


Darkest Days

by BkZa555



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Bro Ryoji, F/M, Gen, Lazy Taggers, Metaverse, Mystery, Yuuki Makoto is brought back to life, akechi is alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 47,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26401435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BkZa555/pseuds/BkZa555
Summary: Almost a decade after facing The Fall, the one who should have been dead is welcome back to the world of the living in order to restart his Journey. The Fools are now faced with not Death, but Mankind’s Malice — the God of Darkness, Erebus. What awaits them beyond the Blood Moon?[Ignoring P4A and P4AU although some elements will be implemented][HIATUS DUE TO WRITER’S BLOCK]
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Arisato Minato/Takeba Yukari, Kujikawa Rise/Narukami Yu, Kujikawa Rise/Persona 4 Protagonist, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist, Persona 3 Protagonist/Takeba Yukari, Platonic Mochizuki Ryoji/Yuuki Makoto, Takeba Yukari/Yuuki Makoto
Comments: 120
Kudos: 194





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there and welcome to my humble work! Update schedules will be as erratic as I am, sorry. I’m open to both suggestions and questions, so feel free.
> 
> This happens because I cannot help myself after devouring playlists of persona gameplays (don’t own PS, feelsbadman) and playing P4G for myself.
> 
> Some things might not make senses, but hey, I have to do this to make this story works lol
> 
> Also Ryoji best girl. Change my mind

**_Chapter One_**

**_March 5 th, 2010_** ****

_The wind feels nice._

He echoes what Aigis had said in his head and agrees. His body is heavy, his mind is numb. He’s so, so tired—

_But not yet._

_I have to keep my promise._

Makoto had always remembered — from the first moment the Dark Hour vanished, up until this very seconds. He remembers _everything_ , and it seems the others have not recalled their promises just yet. So, even with all his life spent sealing away mankind’s wish for death, he cannot die. Not now.

He keeps his eyes open, his ears trying to focus on Aigis’s words through the increasing rings that grow ever more maddening. He wants to wipe away her tears, wants to say something to comfort her, but he can’t.

All Makoto can do is watch. Watch, and wait. For them to remember.

For him to meet them, just one last time.

 _I wonder,_ He thinks, eyes looking up at the sky above. _If I’ll meet you up there, too, Ryoji?_

_Of course you would._

His breath hitches slightly, blinking. That voice is unmistakeable.

A small smile crosses his lips.

Then, the voice echoes softly, sadly, like the last winter’s wind. _Are you afraid?_

 _No,_ He replies. _I’ve lived my life with all its worth. I have no regrets._

A smile. A chuckle. Fondness. _That’s good. When it is time, we’ll meet, and maybe we’ll share stories. Like good old days._

 _Like good old days,_ He repeats. Those days might never return, but his memories of them will be remembered as long as his soul remains.

And then, he hears their voices.

One by one they run up the stairs, smiling, waving, calling out his name. He musters all that he had left and turns to face them, and as his visions start to blur, he manages a smile.

_I’ve kept my promise._

_Thank you._

And as the wind breezes, he welcomes the arms of Death that has been waiting for him.

* * *

“It’s been a while, Makoto.”

When he comes to, he sees the same landscape. Vast as the sea, black as the night sky. He sits on a blue couch, and next to him—

He smiles. “Good morning, Ryoji.”

“It’s morning?” The other questions, sapphire eyes looking at him curiously. He then winces. “Oh. Yeah. Graduation.”

“Sad I didn’t attend the ceremony,” Makoto says dryly. There’s stinging on his body, like he’s been cut with barbed wires. Constantly. Painfully. He ignores it. “Looks like Mitsuru-senpai stumbles. Really wish I didn’t miss that.”

“Oh yeah,” Ryoji says. He then pauses. “Nah, I really don’t want to see her stumble on her words. Reminds me too much of the bath.”

This time, Makoto winces, remembering _Mabufudyne —_ or was it _Nielfhelm? —_ that had been casted down on their still soaking wet asses.

“Ow.”

“Exactly,”

There is a beat of silence, and they both laugh.

_Like good old days._

“Welcome back, I guess, Makoto,” Ryoji says, smiling warmly. “But I wish you didn’t have to die, though. It’s such a shame.”

“You’re the one who forces me to kill myself.” He grumbles half-heartedly. “Well, not directly _you_ , but still.”

“Yeah,” He echoes. A pause, then, “since you’re going to be stuck here with me for who knows how long, do you want to do anything?”

The pain is stronger, something is slamming into him constantly. He coughs, gripping his chest. Ryoji simply waits until his pain has passed. Makoto exhales, the numbness replacing the scorching of the invisible chains around him.

“You know?”

_That I’m sealing Erebus with my own life?_

“Yes,” Ryoji confirms, melancholy in his voice. “I’m sorry you have to suffer like this, Makoto.”

He just shakes his head. “It’s fine. So… what can we actually do in here?” He snorts. “ _Video games?”_

Ryoji grins, this time. “Well, we can here. This is your own mind, so I think you can conjure things up on your own around here?”

“You _think?_ ”

“The hell am I supposed to know? I’ve been here for as long as you do. It’s just my speculations!” He counters lightly, jabbing Makoto’s shoulder with a certain level of care. His smile widens as he claps his hands together, and then a tome of some sorts appear.

Makoto just stares at it. “…What the hell is that?”

“Your bonds,” He replies, opening the tome, revealing the moving pictures of everyone he has ever talked with, ever formed a friendship with—

Ever loved. Still does.

“We have all eternity, wasting some time looking at these might be good for your heart, you know?” Ryoji states. He slowly scoots closer to Makoto. “Do you want to?”

“Of course,” He answers without missing a beat.

Dying might not have been so bad, after all.

* * *

There is a sense of dread in the air.

The floor is cold, and burning. Hard surface, cold enough to freeze your skin right off, but smooth as marbles. The air is stale, fogs covering the usually clear room.

He writhes.

“Makoto!” Ryoji says in a panic. He had never panicked once, even when he gasps and moans while Erebus pounds into the Seal constantly. This time is different, he surmises. Must have been, because this pain is not like the last thousand times.

Makoto opens his mouth, trying to say something, but all that comes out is a strangled gasp. He coughs and kicks, clawing at his skin to try to sooth the pain coursing through him. The pounding in his head gets louder, and before he realizes he is already screaming his lungs out.

He feels hands — Ryoji’s, probably. Who else? — on him, trying to keep him grounded. He gritted his teeth, his screams becoming no more than occasional whimpers.

His body trembles weakly as the other grits his teeth and murmurs. “What the hell is going on? Makoto, what happened?”

His answer is but a whisper, so soft and quiet. “…I don’t… I don’t know.”

_Fear._

He realizes he’s fearing _something._

 _Something other than death_.

Ryoji opens his mouth, but he suddenly pauses when the air before Makoto rips itself apart, and something black and menacing seeps out of it.

On instinct, Makoto tries to get up, but his body refuses to move. Ryoji hurriedly grabs him and hoists him up, stepping back as the smokes of something other than death approaches them. Makoto could see only one side of his face from his arms, but he could tell Ryoji is as confused as he is.

“What’s going on?” Ryoji grits out, his eyes narrowing. “This place shouldn’t be affected by anything. So how—”

“That is Erebus’s doing, I’m afraid,”

They both turn (or in Makoto’s case, _tries to_ ) to the voice, and they are greeted by a lady in all blue. Her golden eyes are sharp and oppressing, but at the same time very, very kind.

“What the hell is going on today?” Ryoji says, but then he snarls at her. “And who are you? How are you here?”

“My name is Elizabeth,” She introduces herself. Makoto tries to say something, _anything_ , but all he could do is watch. “I’m a resident of the Velvet room. We’ll talk in details later, but first, the Great Seal is no longer necessary.”

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second!” Ryoji protests while keeping on eye on the seeping dark, the other on Elizabeth. Makoto tries to convey that she’s a friend, but in his panic (which is also very fiercely protective of him, Makoto must say), he doesn’t see it. “What the hell do you mean the Seal is no longer necessary!?”

“Because Erebus somehow gains enough power to descend to humanity on its own. It seems to gain its own “consciousnesses”, and Nyx, being neither kind nor malevolent as it is, refuses to follow its maddened whim which aggravates it into descending down to try to devour humanity by itself.”

Ryoji gapes. “It _what?_ ”

“We’ll talk more later,” She cuts them off. “Let’s go.”

And with that, he whites out.

* * *

When he comes to, he sees the same elevator. The similar faces. The blue.

“Welcome, to the Velvet Room.”

He breathes. The pain is gone. He looks around. The room is almost the same, saves for the fact that he doesn’t sit directly across from Igor anymore. Instead—

“Ryoji,” He says, seeing a terribly confused Ryoji sitting beside him. The man turns to him, mouthing is name, then looks around. Makoto frowns. “How are you here?”

“Er… I shouldn’t be?” He questions.

“I mean… I don’t know?” He responds. Well, more like questions back, but still. He looks over the other side of the table, at the smiling Igor. Then, he smiles. “It’s been a while, Igor.”

“Indeed it has,” He says, “It is quite odd, but I’m happy to inform you that you have received, from Fate itself, a second chance at a Fool’s Journey, Makoto-san.”

“A… chance at a Journey,” He breathes. “But I’m dead.”

“Yet, here we are.” He says simply, eyeing a sweating Elizabeth. “I must say I’m intrigued your very person convinced a resident to go above and beyond to save you. With all the things that had happened in the past few years, you’re quite lucky.”

“Luck, and misfortune.” Elizabeth supplies. “Mankind’s malices had shifted and changed, and so has Erebus. That’s why the Seal is useless, because it can now think, and thus rationalizes that it can bring chaos and deaths onto the world by itself.”

“…Wow,” Ryoji blinks and sighs. “Well, I suppose there’s still some silver linings in all these. But why am I here? I’m Nyx’s Avatar, after all.”

“An Avatar only exists when its master has a purpose,” Igor says. “You might not have realized. But you are free of Nyx’s will, proved by the fact that you have been staying beside him all this time… Mochizuki Ryoji-san.”

Ryoji remains silent. Makoto lets the words sink in, and when they do, he smiles.

“Thank you, Ryoji.”

“…It’s no problem,” He says, meekly and kind of embarrassed.

“Besides,” Igor says. “Nyx has now realized one thing, that it is not its job to bring the absolute end. Only to governs the balance between life and death, as it should have. From what I could gather, it seems Nyx intent to bring the Fall not just because Erebus awakens it, but also because Erebus has _manipulated_ it to believe that bringing death is its sole reason of existence.”

“That’s preposterous!” Ryoji counters. “That means the Fall… isn’t supposed to happen at all? But because Erebus messed with Nyx’s very _core of being_?”

“Yes, but because of that, for a time, Erebus seems to have lost its conscience. But now that it has awakened fully, the Fool must Journey once more to do what must be done.”

“And uh… why am I here again?” Ryoji questions. “I’m no Fool,”

“But you are him,” Igor says. “And he is you.”

Then it all clicks.

Why Ryoji could be there, for all the pain and suffering. How he has always been beside him, even after he becomes Nyx’s Avatar.

Because of what happened on the bridge years ago—

“I am thou,” Makoto speaks, and turns to look at Ryoji, who stares right back at him. “And Thou art I. We share the soul from the beginning… that’s why.”

“It is up to you, Death Arcana, whether you want to join him in this Journey or not,” Igor explains, waving his hand in Makoto’s direction. “The choice is yours.”

Ryoji stills for a moment before letting out a laugh. Genuine. Surprise. Relief.

“You haven’t explained everything yet, but it seems to be the truth. Nyx is manipulated, huh…” Ryoji mutters, then he looks up. At Igor, and then Makoto. “Yes. I’ll join him, this time as a friend… and family.”

Makoto feels himself smile at that, and Igor claps his hands.

“Then the contract is sealed. I’ll let you adjust to your new lives for now, and we’ll meet again soon. Elizabeth will help you, since breaking one more rule might pose no problem to her (and boy Makoto could see the Attendant sweats bullets at that). The next time we meet, you might be invited to meet the other Wild Cards as well.”

That gives him a pause. “What!?”

But before he could say anything else, unlike last time, consciousness is _ripped_ out of him.

* * *

The wind is blowing, cherry blossoms littering the air.

He opens his eyes, and inhales.

The scent of spring fills his lungs.

He’s _alive_.


	2. Spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, I think it’s good. But really? Relative?”
> 
> “I have four seconds to think! Give me some credits!” He protests.
> 
> “I know, I know,” Ryoji quickly pacifies him before he looks at the subject of their talk. “I think it’s good idea, too. You might not be able to, but I can tell. That school’s going to be the best place to investigate Erebus.”
> 
> He looks at Ryoji questioningly. “How so?”
> 
> His pale eyes lock with sapphire ones, and in a serious tone, he answers. “Because he’s a Wild Card. Same as you.”
> 
> .
> 
> “He what!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! I've returned with another chapter! More slice of life-ish?
> 
> Akechi is alive, by the way. Will be explored much later, but hey, our sadistic boi needs some love!
> 
> Whereas Makoto wakes up not so nicely, and Ryoji is as chaotic as he comes.
> 
> Enjoy!

**_Chapter Two: Spring_**

**_March 3 rd, 2017_**

“…Ow.”

He really should have learnt by now, that breathing after being dead would hurt _like a bitch_.

Wait, that’s not right.

Thinking hurts, so he decides to go with _whatever_ and slowly sits up. Looking around, all he sees are cherry blossom trees, stretching from one end to the other. There seems to be no people around, and it sure as hell is a night time. The wind is warm, just like the last spring before he died in Aigis’ arms.

That memory really stings.

“You okay, Makoto?”

He turns to the voice, and Ryoji is standing there beside him, arm outstretched in his direction. He wordlessly grabs his hand and lets the other pulls him up, only for him to be hit with sudden dizziness and loses his balance.

Ryoji catches him. “Nope, you aren’t okay at all.”

“I feel like I have to get used to everything besides breathing _again_ ,” He groans. He feels really sick and tired to the bones. “I want to sleep.”

“Not on the ground,” Ryoji says. “You’re gonna catch a cold.”

“But I’m dead.”

“You _were_ dead. You’re alive now,” Ryoji counters quickly, follows by a jab to his waist, eliciting a yelp from Makoto. “See?”

“Don’t tease me!” He hisses.

Ryoji just grins before he puts Makoto’s arm around his shoulder and helps him walk. His legs feel like jelly, and he couldn’t put his feet on the ground for two seconds before he stumbles. The other silently leads him towards the nearest food stall (which is half an hour away) and seats him at a table.

Makoto is about to ask him if he had money, only to see Ryoji _pickpocketing_ two thousand yen off a _woman’s_ bag. He winces, but says nothing because he’s too damn hungry and tired for anything else. He just kind of sit there with his head in his hands and bemoaning his (now alive) (he still can’t wrap his head around it) existence.

He feels someone nearby and pries from between his fingers to see a high school student (he thinks) looking at him worriedly.

Upon seeing him, she asks, “Are you okay?”

 _I was dead until a few moments ago so_ “No,” He replies, cutting off the whole first part, no matter how much he wants to say it. “I feel sick.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“Not gonna help,” He groans again. God, everything hurts and he wants to just forget it for a second. His head is throbbing and his stomach is growling. He then adds, “I’m going to be fine. Just need a nap. Or ten. I think?”

“…okay?” She says, unsure. Before he could say anything else, she sits down beside him. “Mind if I join you?”

 _But you already kinda did_ , he thinks, but refrains from actually saying it. He doesn’t have enough care to give to anything right now. “‘Course not.”

“Thank you.”

He lets the silence linger as he waits for Ryoji, who has now taken up chatting with another boy around their age. Black unkempt hair and a glass. He frowns. “I’m hungry.”

“I’m sure we can share our food with you,” The girl smiles. “Um…”

Makoto just sighs. “Yuuki Makoto.”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Yuuki-san,” She says happily. He couldn’t help but smile a little. “My name is Yoshizawa Sumire. A pleasure.”

He hums. Then he pauses and turns to look at her school uniform. “…Shujin?”

“Oh?” She mouths in surprise, but nods. “Yes, I’m a first year. Going to be second year the next semester. You?”

He pauses. Before he died, he was about to become a third year. Well, since he was dropped into the middle of Tokyo (he thinks), he might as well enroll there.

But wait, he needs money!

He groans again and nearly forgets he still haven’t answered Yoshizawa’s question. In a hurry, he replies, “Third year this semester. Have to transfer school to Shujin though since my… relative lives here.”

_Smooth, Makoto. Very smooth._

“Oh! That’s kinda nice.” She claps her hands together. He winces and she quickly apologizes. “Sorry! You don’t like loud voices, do you?”

“I don’t,” He mutters.

Shortly after, Ryoji walks over to their seats with a frizzly-haired boy and sits beside him, two plates of yakisoba in hands. He silently pushes one over to Makoto as he speaks, “So this is your girlfriend? Aw, she’s a beauty!”

Yoshizawa blushes, and the frizzly-haired slaps his hand away in a friendly manner. “No, I told you my girlfriend’s not here. This is my Kouhai, Mochizuki-san. Yoshizawa Sumire,” The boy introduces her to Ryoji, and he was about to make a shameless advance on her when Makoto stops him with a glare.

“You’re no fun, Makoto.” Ryoji says. “Anyways, this is Yuuki Makoto, my best friend. And this is my new friend, Amamiya Ren!”

The boy in glasses nods slightly. “Pleasure.”

“Same,” He breathes. When the boy turns to speak with Yoshizawa, he pulls Ryoji in and fills him in quickly. Seeing the other pauses, he adds, “You not okay with the idea?”

“No, I think it’s good. But really? _Relative?_ ”

“I have four seconds to think! Give me some credits!” He protests.

“I know, I know,” Ryoji quickly pacifies him before he looks at Amamiya. “I think it’s good idea, too. You might not be able to, but I can tell. That school’s going to be the best place to investigate Erebus.”

He looks at Ryoji questioningly. “How so?”

His pale eyes lock with sapphire ones, and in a serious tone, he answers. “Because he’s a Wild Card. Same as you.”

.

“He _what!?_ ”

“Shh!” Ryoji shuts him up with a kick to the shin. He yelps. The other two look at them for a moment before resuming talking with — are those _phones??_ — devices in their hands. Once he was sure they weren’t looking, he continues in a hushed tone. “Anyways, there it is. Your best bet, so we’d better work our asses off to get into that school.”

“No parents. No relatives. Also, no current friends that know I’m _alive,_ ” Makoto hisses, reaching down to rub his shin (that kick was brutal goddamnit). Not that he plans on contacting them and says _hey guys! I’m alive_ or anything. He’s better off dead to them. Their trials are over, but his? His has only just begun.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get that sorted,” Ryoji says firmly. “Trust me.”

And well, when he put it that way… “…Okay, fine.”

After a short pause, the frizzly-haired says, “Hey, she says you’re going to enroll into Shujin next semester?”

“Oh,” He stumbles, and with a nod from Ryoji, he says. “Yeah. Me and him both.”

“Welcome to Tokyo, I guess,” He says with a shrug. “I got transferred last year. Stuff happened. And I get to stay because my parents got promoted to working overseas.”

“Uh…” Makoto is unsure of what to actually say. “Congrats?”

“Thanks,” He receives it with a smirk. “Since you’re going to be my acquaintance soon, how about I show you around sometimes?”

“That’d be great,” He groans and picks at the food before him the best he could. “Maybe after a time. I’ve got to get things sorted first.”

“Sure,” Amamiya replies, holding his phone (?) up. “Your numbers?”

Without a pause, he deadpans, “Lost to the fishes, I’m afraid. Have to buy a new one.”

Ryoji tries to stifle his laughter at that. Makoto kicks his foot hard as he focuses on Amamiya, who mutters _is that so_ before he attempts again. “Well, then you write mine down. Give me a call whenever you need it.”

“Thanks,” He murmurs, snatching a pen and a piece of paper from Ryoji (where the _fuck_ do you find all of that? In that woman’s bag?) (Goddamnit don’t make pickpocketing a _thing_ ) and writing down his number. After he finishes, he stuffs the paper into his pockets. “If you’re finished you can leave ahead. I think it’s going to take a while until I stop feeling sick.”

“Oh,” The other says. “Okay. Get well soon, Yuuki. Give me a ring if you need anything.”

And then they left

.

Makoto could feel himself literally dying. Wait, no, wrong choices of words.

He could feel himself falling asleep any seconds now.

That’s better.

Ryoji looks after the frizzly-haired, noticing the cat popping out of the bag and looking at them, before he turns to Makoto. “You good?”

“Of fucking course _not_ ,” He snarls, remembers himself, and just drops his head onto the table with a _thud_. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Ryoji assures him. “You’re tired. Let’s find some place to stay the night, and also a place to work. And wherever this Shujin is, and—”

“ _Ryoji,”_ He chides. “One thing at a time, please. My head can’t take this.”

“Alright,” He says and helps Makoto stand up. Slowly, they trudge along the roads and into the night.

* * *

“That man gives me weird vibes. Dunno why.”

Morgana says as he pops out of the bag. Ren shifts to accommodate the not-cat better, but says nothing. Yoshizawa looks back at the boy as he’s hoisted up by Mochizuki worriedly, and Ren’s eyes follow.

He frowns. “He looks more than just a little sick.”

“Maybe we should’ve called an ambulance…” She says, and when they get out of sight, adds, “Too late now, though.”

“Well, there’s that. And I’ve already told the others but you and, uh… _him,_ ” Ren makes a wild gesture to indicated the dead but not dead man named something that starts with a big fat A. “Futaba is looking into it right now, but we both agree that my… extended stay is due to an external manipulation.”

“You mean… someone set you to stay here?” She asks.

Ren taps away at his phone. “Mom and Dad have never had this big a promotion before. Moving provinces? Sure. But moving countries in their fields of works is just ridiculous, not to mention the raises,” He pushes his glasses up and looks down at his chat between his families. Their salaries got raised by one _digit_. “It’s weird.”

“Hmm… maybe it has something to do with the fact that the MetaNav is not gone?”

He thinks so, too, as he eyes the creepy red eye that stares right back into his soul. It’s as if it’s saying _touch me if you dare_. This time, he knows better.

“Maybe,” He finally says.

When he’s about to put his phone away, there’s a ping. He looks at the name, and then the text.

 _Well, shit._ “Well, shit.”

“What is it, Senpai?” Yoshizawa asks. All he does is show her the message.

_Someone clears my criminal records and sends ten million yen my way. We need to talk._

_Sent by Crow._

“Welp,” Morgana says, scrunching his nose. “This suck.”

“You can say that again,” He groans and types back to Akechi in a hurry.

**_Got it. Tomorrow at Leblanc? I’ll bring the rest._ **

_I’m not free. A few days after would be preferable._

_I cannot trace the sender, either, so I’ll be using Oracle’s help._

**_My parents also got a one more zero salary raises._ **

****

**_Someone’s trying to keep us in Tokyo._ **

_Figures._

_Then 6 th, 10 am sharp. Will bring some other things there too. _

Ren pauses, same as Morgana and Yoshizawa. They stare at his screen for a long, long time.

**_Bring what things exactly?_ **

_You’ll see._

“I hate Akechi,” Ren says bluntly.

“Me too.”

* * *

When they manage to secure themselves a room, Makoto slumps onto the bed and immediately passes out.

He wakes up a few hours later to Ryoji bringing in—

“What are you doing?”

“Oh!” The boy drops the wallet that is definitely _not his_. Makoto scrutinizes him for a long time until he finally relents and just keeps rummaging through bags after bags. “They aren’t going to miss these, I’m sure. I mean, they’re yakuzas to begin with, so who cares?”

“Really?” He groans into the pillow, too tired to get up. “Our income is going to come from _this?_ ”

“Hey, we’re in a pinch. We need immediate money,” Ryoji protests, picking money bills off _wallets after wallets_. “Besides, we need IDs. And since we’re high schoolers, phones. Smart phones, to be exact.”

He blinks. “Like the things those two were using?”

“Exactly. Trust me, Makoto, you’re going to have a field day with what’s been going on these past seven years,” Ryoji says as he tidies up, putting the wallets inside a trash bag, ties it up, and sets it in a corner. He walks over and sits on the bed. “Feel any better?”

“A bit,” He admits. He still feels constant pain and his head still feels like someone is splitting it open. But he could think clearer, at least. “So how are we going to get IDs and all that?”

“I can make people not see me,” Ryoji says, as if that explains everything. After a pause, he adds while pointing at himself. “I’m also a Persona. Don’t ask me how it works, I sometimes can choose _not_ to be seen by people. Exceptions are Persona users, though, so that’d be a _whoops_ if it happens.”

“Don’t make it sounds like _not_ a big deal,” Makoto mutters. “And you’re going to what? Change the national registry or something?”

“Yep.”

A pause.

“Seriously?”

“Yep!” He responds, more enthusiastic this time. “I can do that just fine. I mean, if they can’t see me then I can just swoop in and _click_. Done!”

“Please tell me you’re _joking_.” Makoto is exasperated now.

And Ryoji just _grins_ back at him. “Nope, I am not.”

“Shoot me now.”

“No can do, you don’t have an Evoker right now.”

He just glares at Ryoji before rolling onto his back and regretting it instantly. Goddamnit, the whole room _spins_. He groans and closes his eyes, hands over eyelids just to keep himself from puking. Ryoji mouths a not so apologetic _sorry_ and hands him a bottle of water.

Makoto just keeps it in his hand, not daring to move much right now. Instead, he groans. “Why is my everything still hurts?”

“Well, maybe because you were dead for _seven years_?” Ryoji says flatly. Makoto throws the bottle at him, and the other just laughs. “Seriously, though, you were dead until a few, what, hours ago? Give yourself some credit for not throwing up, at least.”

“I know,” He moans. “It still sucks. Living is hard.”

“You tell me,” Ryoji agrees, picking up the bottle and putting it in his hand again. He just looks at the ceiling and contemplates everything for a moment.

While his friend is busy putting away the cash, he blurts out, “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Ryoji doesn’t answer right away. He just puts things back in order first before sitting on the bed again. When Makoto looks at him, he is smiling warmly.

He then whispers, “Me too, Makoto. Glad to be here.”

He returns with a grin. But as his luck would have it, he just can’t seem to open his eyes any further, so he just let them slide shut. He exhales slowly, and before he sleeps for the first times in years, he hears Ryoji says;

“Sweet dreams. You’ve earned it.”

* * *

He fiddles with the phone in his hands, still getting used to fine motor control. All of his muscle memories are gone (go figures), but at least his instinct is sharp.

He doesn’t look up when someone sits next to him and puts a can of cold soda on his knee. He takes it, puts the phone down, and uncaps the can. “So, just how much money did you steal—”

“—pick up, Makoto,” Ryoji corrects him.

He ignores it, “ _Steal_ from people last night?”

Ryoji pouts a little, but relents and thinks for a few seconds. “I think around two hundred thousand ye— Bwaaah!”

Makoto spit takes into Ryoji’s face, making the other boy jumps and falls flat on his back. _Two hundred thousand, how is that a LITTLE_ — Makoto mentally slaps himself and counts his breathing as his friend climbs back up the bench. When Ryoji is properly seated, he says dryly, “You said you stole a _little.”_

 _“Borrowed_ ,” He corrects Makoto again. “And they have tens of millions! They wouldn’t miss a few hundred thousand.”

“Riiiiiight,” Makoto drags his voice as he wipes the soda off his chin and takes a sip. His throat’s still parched, so he takes another. “So, we now have everything a normal human being should have. What next?”

“Shujin Academy,” Ryoji proposes, leaning back and looking up at the clear blue sky. “I made ourselves some documents, so applying should be easy. What’s not going to be is getting in, so, I have an idea.”

Makoto doesn’t quite get it, at first. But when he sees a paper saying _tests_ at the top, he just blinks. And blinks.

And blinks.

“…You sure this is going to work?”

“I mean, I already snuck in and got myself a copy of the tests and the answers,” He says with a small shrug. Ryoji then laughs at Makoto’s dumbfounded face. “It’ll be fine! We need to do this.”

“…Yeah, you’re right,” He finally admits. And then, he shows Ryoji the phone. It’s an app with a spooky red eye, labeled _MetaNav_. “This thing just comes into my phone. Deleted it. Didn’t work.”

“Probably something to do with all this mess, for sure,” Ryoji surmises. He checks his phone as well. “Weirdly enough, I have one on mine too. Even though I’m a Persona.”

“Might be because we share a soul,” Makoto says nonchalantly.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Anyways,” He yawns. His strength hasn’t returned just yet, so being out for too long, or god forbid, even _talking_ for too long tires him out too quickly. “I think I need a nap again. My head is heavy and I think I need a few _gallons of coffee_.”

“You sure do, huh,” Ryoji comments and helps Makoto up. “Let’s recover first, then we’ll do something about the next step later.”

“M’kay,” He mumbles, leaning his head on Ryoji’s shoulder. “See you later.”

“Alright. See you later, Makoto.”

* * *

Yu isn’t someone who’s easily fazed.

But this shocks the _shit_ out of him.

A few lines of text, a name. That’s all it takes to shake him up, and the content? That’s something he’s hoped he would never have to see or heard again.

_Senpai, they contacted me and said they needed our powers._

_They said something about Personas and Shadows and a Metaverse._

_We need to talk. All of us._

_Kujikawa Rise._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? How was it this time? 
> 
> Leave some reviews and kudos if you like it! Also feel free to ask anything! If it doesn't spoil the story, I'll gladly answer! :D


	3. Omen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is worse than I thought,” Ryoji says, forcefully stripping off Makoto’s jackets and socks and unbutton a few buttons of his shirt. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and he feels like he still can’t get enough air. “We have to find the cause for this soon, because I don’t think you’d be able to endure it if it happened again.”
> 
> “Of course I can,” Makoto retorts. “It just hurts. I’m fine.”
> 
> “You puked out everything, Makoto. Including blood,” Ryoji says, pointing at little droplets of red staining his jackets and shirt. 
> 
> Oh. 
> 
> “Oh.”
> 
> “Don’t ‘Oh’ me!” Ryoji, for the first time, snaps. There’s a sense of panic in his voice. “I can’t even imagine how much it hurts for you to claw off your nails and scream for twelve. Straight. Hours! Don’t fucking lie to me and say everything is fine because nothing is fine!”
> 
> He pants after his outburst. Makoto only nods, looking away from him. Never once had he seen Ryoji angry, and now that he is… it’s his fault.
> 
> What he said… is the truth that Makoto can’t deny anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Sorry for the slight delay, I went home this weekend
> 
> For your kind reviews, thank you! And yes, I do agree that being pick pocketed by one Mochi-boy is much better than having your soul reaped with a Megiodalaon (lmfao). Not that he would do that, of course, he's too kind for his own good.
> 
> Anyhow! Here is the chapter! As always, no Betas, we die like Makoto lmao.
> 
> In which Makoto is in pain, Ryoji doesn't know what to do, and the Thieves are in for some wild ride, being given guns without an explanation.

**_Chapter Three: Omen_**

**_March 5 th, 2017_**

Instead of getting better, his pain _worsens_.

He can’t hear anything except screeching in his head. He has lost his voice a few hours ago due to how much he had just been _screaming_. The pain is much, much worse that what had happened _up there_ , and he’s being ripped apart from the inside out. 

Ryoji’s presence does much in keeping him somewhat sane, but it doesn’t help with the agony his body is experiencing. Makoto thinks he’s also crying, but he isn’t sure. He cannot focus on anything else.

“—oto. Makoto!” Ryoji tries again, hands on his arms as he keeps his body from writhing too much. He couldn’t see the other’s face, with his eyes screwed shut, but he could hear clear distress in his voice. “What’s wrong? Come on, Makoto, tell me how I can help!”

He doesn’t answer. He couldn’t. Instead, he grips Ryoji’s arm tightly, nails digging into the other’s skin. There’s warm wetness under his fingertips, but Ryoji says nothing about it. Instead, he lets Makoto abuses his arm, holding onto it like a lifeline. It helps keep him grounded, and he’s grateful for it.

“Shh. Shh,” He murmurs, soothing Makoto however he could.

He doesn’t know how long he had stayed like that, but it must’ve been at least a few more hours because the sun had long since set. The pain persists, although a bit less now, and every little actions Ryoji does help ease it a little more. His ragged breathing slows down, leaving him with gasps and moans instead of silent screams he’d been letting out. He dares to open his eyes — his vision is so _fucking blurry_ — and he’s glad he did because Ryoji looks instantly relieved.

The other boy lets him clings to his arm, and settles himself down somewhat.

“Are you alright?”

Makoto shakes his head and groans immediately, his vision swimming. He inhales and exhales deeply a few more time before rasping out, “How long…?”

“It’s 5.13 am,” Ryoji responds, his voice coating with nothing but pain. When the hell did it start? Makoto thinks he hadn’t said that aloud, but Ryoji seems to understand what he wants to ask. “It started when we got back to our room… that was twelve hours ago.”

Oh.

“Sor… sorry,” He gasps out, then coughs.

“Why are you apologizing, you idiot?” Ryoji does his best to put on a brave face, but Makoto knows better. The other helps him sits up a little and puts a cup under his lips. “Drink. Your voice is pretty cracked right now, and I’m not going to start explaining _why_.”

 _Sorry,_ He wants to say. He really does. But he just nods and takes little sips at a time, carefully so.

Ryoji looks out the window. Then he turns back to Makoto. “Are you okay?”

He mouths, _I dunno_ , silently, not trusting himself enough to put any kind of volume behind any words. Ryoji sighs at that then sets him down, making sure to let Makoto hogs his arm to himself for now. His pale eyes find Ryoji’s, and the other smiles sadly at him.

“Are you afraid?”

He nods.

“Me too.”

Makoto looks at him, seeing his brows knotted together, and that painfully forced smile. Ryoji tugs lightly, and Makoto lets his arm go. The other simply wipes the blood off and sits fully on the bed next to his form, still curling on it in fetal position.

Ryoji just pats his head lightly, soothingly. “Please get some rest. We’ll talk when the pain is gone. And I’ll be here, don’t worry.”

He sighs. Ryoji’s reassurance is strong enough that he feels like he could let himself sleep without worry.

He shuts his eyes and lets himself rest.

* * *

When he wakes up, he’s greeted with a basket.

There’s a post it on the handle.  
  


_Pain meds. Please use wisely. I’ll be back after a few hours, so stay put until then._

_—Ryoji._

He snorts at the post it and grips his head as he pushes himself up. There is a bit too many bottles of pills in the basket, and if he had to guess, Ryoji must’ve snatched them from the pharmacy. He groans, too hurt to really care (not that he normally would) and pops a few pills into his mouth.

He slumps back, breathing shallowly because apparently, deep breaths now hurt like he’s hit with a truck, too. Makoto has to keep wiping sweats away from his face, as they keep forming. He feels like he’s on fire, and the AC at 15 freaking Celsius does _nothing_ to help.

He just stares at the lightbulb above of him and wills his mind to _think_.

Well, he did just return from being dead. Could that be the reason why he feels such intense pain? He frowns at the idea… it seems too easy to assume that his sudden _alive-ness_ just causes him this. It might be something more, and he isn’t sure where to put his finger at.

Regardless, the randomness of the pain could make him vulnerable in the worst of times.

Imagining that happening inside the so-called Metaverse or, god forbid, during the _Dark Hour_ , would spells his instant death. He frowns at the idea, and while it’s unpleasant to think about, it’s the truth that he needs to find solutions to.

He moans, dizziness suddenly overtakes his senses, causing him to sink further into his pillow. He swallows hard, and barely pulls himself enough over the edge of the bed in time before all his gastric contents come out and burn his throat on its way into the trash can.

It takes him several minutes to finish, and several more before he has the energy or the heart to pulls his head off the trash can. And it is this exact moment that the door clicks open.

“Oh my god, Makoto!” Ryoji quickly shuts the door and rushes to his side. He holds up a hand to say that he’s fine, but he must’ve looked like complete shit for Ryoji to frown at him and drag him back up the bed. The other looks at him, the crumbled sheets of the bed, then the bin, then back at him. “How long have you been barfing?”

“Dunno,” He murmurs, gripping his head in both hands. “A while. Throat hurts.”

“This is worse than I thought,” Ryoji says, forcefully stripping off Makoto’s jackets and socks and unbutton a few buttons of his shirt. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and he feels like he still can’t get enough air. “We have to find the cause for this soon, because I don’t think you’d be able to endure it if it happened again.”

“Of course I can,” Makoto retorts. “It just hurts. I’m fine.”

“You puked out _everything_ , Makoto. Including _blood_ ,” Ryoji says, pointing at little droplets of red staining his jackets and shirt.

 _Oh_.

“Oh.”

“Don’t ‘ _Oh’_ me!” Ryoji, for the first time, snaps. There’s a sense of panic in his voice. “I can’t even imagine how much it hurts for you to claw off your nails and scream for twelve. Straight. Hours! Don’t fucking lie to me and say everything is fine because _nothing_ is fine!”

He pants after his outburst. Makoto only nods, looking away from him. Never once had he seen Ryoji angry, and now that he is… it’s his fault.

What he said… is the truth that Makoto can’t deny anymore.

After a moment of silence, he whispers tentatively. “I… don’t know. All I remember is pain and… you.”

Ryoji combs his hair back with his fingers and exhales. “I know, Makoto. Sorry about that.”

“I deserved it,” Is all he manages to say.

Ryoji hums, but says nothing else.

Neither of them speaks a word to each other for a few minutes before Ryoji speaks up again. “How’re you feeling now?”

“Sick. Tired. Out of breath. Hot,” He lists, trying to keep his breath steady. Ryoji acknowledges him with a quiet _okay_ before he shifts away. Makoto watches as he disappears into the bathroom for a while, only to reappear with a small bowl and a towel.

“Can you sit?” He asks. Makoto tries to, but he feels sick just _thinking_ , so he _nope_ himself out of it and shakes his head. Ryoji nods and helps him up, leaning him against the headboard. He then starts wiping the blood off of his body. “You’re a mess.”

Makoto groans.

“Just ask for help next time. You’re not alone, you know,” Ryoji mutters, voice low, as he works meticulously and thoroughly. Makoto sighs and lets his head falls back, angling his head towards a certain corner of the ceiling.

They spent almost half an hour in absolute silence, where Ryoji just keeps cleaning up the messes he made and he’s just… sitting there, being in pain and _useless_.

“Ryoji, I’m—”

“Don’t you dare say _I’m sorry_ , Makoto. None of this is your fault,” Ryoji cuts him off. “But not admitting it and not asking for help are. I’ll always be here with you, so lean on me, ‘kay?”

“…M’kay,” He finally relents, closing his eyes.

…And he must’ve passed out because next thing he know, Ryoji is gently shaking him.

“I’m awake now,” He says tiredly. Gripping his head, he sits up fully, his body tipping forward. He could feel the other’s arms waiting to catch him. “I’m not going to fall, I promise.”

“Okay,” Ryoji steps back. Makoto opens his eyes to see that it’s midday, now.

“…I need to see a doctor.”

“Yeah, I think you should, too. But we can’t go to the hospital. We don’t have enough money. Not to mention that hospitals are always saturated with negative thoughts,” Ryoji says, looking at the tiny piece of paper. He looks up at Makoto. “I’m going to call Amamiya. See if he can help.”

“Okay,” Makoto says meekly, resting his head against his knee. “I’ll wait.”

* * *

“Yo,”

Ren doesn’t need to turn to know Ryuji and Takamaki have arrived. He smiles and nods without looking at them, pointing up. “You can crash upstairs for now. Crow is going to be here soon.”

“Man, this suck,” Ryuji says, resting his arm on Ren’s back. “Looks like someone knows something about the Thieves, huh?”

“I hope they don’t try to blackmail us into doing something weird,” Ren says, putting his glasses down, eyes scanning the documents Futaba sent him earlier. Her attempts to trace back whoever sent Akechi the money isn’t fruitful at all. Whoever did this is a professional.

“Even Futaba-chan can’t find anything?” Takamaki says from the side, eyeing his screen. She frowns at Futaba’s rants from last night. “They walled her hard, huh? That’s new for her.”

“And quite concerning,” He adds, closing his phone for now. “Let’s go upstairs. The others are waiting.”

Before he could fully unseat himself, however, the door opens and a familiar face shows himself. Ren just gives him a smirk and straightens himself up.

With a nod, he greets the newcomer. “It’s been a while… Akechi.”

“Colour me surprise, you’re actually glad I’m here,” The other replies almost too politely. Ryuji huffs while Takamaki places her hand on her hips, a scowl on her face. “You don’t have to be so openly hostile. I know you people hate me, but this involves all of us in the most unpleasant way possible.”

His face falls at that, and he shows Akechi what Futaba had relayed to him. The other’s scowl deepens further, and his eyes look up from the screen to Ren’s face. The Trickster just puts the phone down and thumbs in the direction of the ceiling. “She’s up there. And – What the hell did you bring with you?”

“These? The other things I mention in our chat, of course,” Akechi says, showing him a simple leather briefcase. He shakes it lightly to show that there is indeed more than a single object inside. “This thing was sent to me the morning after the money is wired and my records wiped. Someone who is capable of all this is no simple man. Or…”

“Not just _one_ ,” Ren surmises.

Akechi nods. “Let’s get together. We need to discuss this. Urgently so.”

.

His attic room is now filled with a _lot_ of people. All of the Thieves, Yoshizawa and Akechi. He sits down on his couch, and Morgana promptly jumps into his lap. Akechi regards everyone briefly before setting the case on the table and opens it.

Inside are nine _pistols_ and one collar, craft-to-fit for Morgana.

“…What the hell are these?”

“There are instructions attached, although it doesn’t explain much,” Akechi says, unfolding a piece of paper and starts reading it aloud. “ _Facing your own demise will bring you closer to the truth. If you have other ways to bring out the true you within, then so be it. But if you cannot, these will assist you. Further instructions will be handed when the time is right_.”

The room falls silent.

“Sign,” Akechi continues, frowning. “ _Fellow Persona User, Artemisia._ ”

“No way in hell that’s a real name,” Ryuji spits, fist hitting the table. “What the hell. It sounds like they know _everything_ while we know _nothing!_ ”

“While that _might be_ the case, I suspect the name isn’t for a _human_ , Sakamoto-kun,” Makoto notes, fingers rubbing her chin. “Artemisia must be this mysterious person’s _Persona_. But what concerns me is that this can’t be a work of a single person.”

“Which brings us to the questions; Who are they? What do they want?” Akechi says, rubbing the bridge of his nose. His brows scrunch further as he reaches for the gun. “I checked these. They aren’t made to fire bullets. They aren’t made to fire _anything_.”

“If I were to guess,” Ren begins, also taking a gun into his hand. “From the massage, these must be this person’s way of bringing out their Persona.”

“That is most likely the case. But why sent these to us?” Kitagawa interjects. “There’s also a collar, must have been made for Morgana. Which means –”

“This person knows I’m also a Persona-User,” The not-cat hisses. “But how? None of these make sense.”

“And they’re not ratting all of us out, either,” Akechi says, setting the gun back and sitting next to Ren. “It must mean they want something from us. Damnit, this makes me what to punch their damn faces in!”

“Calm down, Crow,” Ren commands, and while the other claims they’re equals, he still listens to the Trickster. That’s good. His face then turns to the others, then stop at Futaba. “Futaba, how’s the investigation going?”

“Not good. I’m blocked in every way,” The girl slams her laptop shut. “I need a breather.”

“ _We_ need a breather,” Makoto corrects her. “Right now, we only have questions. I propose we each sit on this and think this through first.”

“We don’t have _time_ for that!” Akechi protests. “What if –”

The ringing of his phone stops all of them.

Ren picks it up and looks at the unknown number. He looks at each of them, and they fall silent in unison, letting him take the call. This might be the mysterious person. Who knows?

“Hello?”

“ _Er, hello,_ ” A familiar but not really voice comes through. A boy. A bit awkward, so definitely not the culprit. “ _Um, is this Amamiya?_ ”

“Yeah, it’s me. Who’re you?” He asks, voice raw from the tension. He clears his throat a little.

_“The transfer student, Mochizuki Ryoji. Remember?”_

Oh! “Oh! Uh, sorry, you called at a surprising time,” His tension is instantly forgotten, and he waves his hand to the others, signaling that this is not it. They all let out their held breaths. “Can I help you? You want me to show you around or something?”

“ _Not… exactly_ ,” Mochizuki seems a bit pained. Reluctant. Ren’s brows furrow.

“What’s wrong?”

“ _It’s Makoto,_ ” Oh, the boy who looked like he’s going to throw up a few days ago. “ _He’s really sick, and we don’t have enough money for a hospital stay. Do you have any recommendations for clinics or home-visit doctors?_ ”

“I do, I do,” He quickly switches to speaker in a hurry. His friends look worriedly, but he says nothing and searches for a certain _T_ in his device. “Is he okay?”

“ _I wouldn’t say ‘okay’, but he’s breathing,_ ” Mochizuki sighs. He could hear panting from the other end of the line.

Yoshizawa blinks. “Is that… Mochizuki-senpai?”

“Yeah,” He nods, finding the number, then pauses. “Tell you what, send me your locations. I’ll bring her to you, it’s faster that way. ‘Sides, she doesn’t really trust new customers.”

“ _Understandable,_ ” Mochizuki says. “ _And next time, tell me before you go on speakers? I can hear your friends’ breathing from here_.”

They all cough at that.

“Sorry, sorry,” He undoes the speaker phone right away and grabs his jacket. “Can you give me a run down of his symptoms so I can tell Takemi-san?”

He lets Mochizuki gives him compacted details, and he could feel his expression turning from just worry to outright terrified. The more he describes it, the more it sounds like this boy is _dying_.

“I’ll be there as soon as I could. If anything changes, call me right away!” He orders before hanging up and looking at the Thieves. They look baffled, and worried – must be from his expressions. His eyes drift towards the gun, but decides to ignore it. “My new friend is really hurt, and I’m bringing a doctor. I’m gonna take Takemi-san to him.”

There are choruses of _okay_ and _gotcha_ , but one person stands up instead of confirming. Makoto walks to him. “I’ll go with you.”

“Okay,” He says with a nod. Morgana hops inside his backpack and he zips it halfway.

With that, he hurries out the door.

* * *

Yu lets himself slides halfway off the bench, his eyes facing the canopy above him. He had already told the others, and they said they’d discuss this with him soon.

_They know about Personas and Shadows._

_What the hell is going on?_

“You look like shit, man.”

Yu doesn’t look at the speaker as he sits beside him, his usually playful voice strained. Yu lets himself sighs and turns to his partner. “Long time no see, Yosuke.”

“I just wish it ain’t like this,” The other man laughs, and pulls a smile out of him. Yu sits up straight, this time. “But man, to think they know about _us,_ who fought out in the sticks. Why not target them Phantom Thieves? They’re much showier than we are.”

“Maybe they already did, who knows?” Yu jokes. But deep down, there is a possibility these people already did. Rise hadn’t told him much, but a quick call sent a chill down his spine.

_“They knew almost everything, Senpai. The fogs, the kidnappings. They even know we fought a **god**!”_

Someone outside their ring knowing that much is not a good sign.

Not at all.

And apparently, they send her a briefcase with _guns_.

“That’d be really bad,” Yosuke says. “Looks like our college years might be as interesting as our high school days, right, partner?”

“I really wish it wouldn’t, but yes,” He says, looking up at the sky, and then at the strange application labeled _MetaNav_ in his phone. “Looks like we’re dragged into one more round of fighting, partner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this week, folks! Leave a review or kudos if you like it, and hopefully see you next week!
> 
> PS. I'll probably not answer every review, because It's gonna flood up people's review. Still, worry not, I read you all. And if you do leave a question, I'll answer! :D


	4. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m with you on that one,” Ren says, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Anyways, we’ll enter at the same place as usual – the place outside of the Mementos might change, but I doubt the people’s Palace would disappear. After all, the Nav didn’t delete itself even after Maruki’s Palace.”
> 
> “Right! That reminds me,” Morgana says, making his way onto the table. He lets Yoshizawa pets his head a little before he continues. “I checked with Futaba yesterday. She managed to track down the sender of the money partway through before the signal is cut, and it brings us to a name.”
> 
> “A name?” Ren asks, tilting his head.
> 
> “Seems money is wired from the same account to someone else, too,” He says, sniffing. “Someone named Shirogane Naoto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, ladies, gents, and everyone in between! I'm here with another chapter!
> 
> A bit of a slice of life, a bit of story progression, you know, same deal
> 
> And thanks for your review! You waiting for new chapters make me wanna write them even more
> 
> And, just for the sake of it; the Trigger will be pulled in the very near future!
> 
> For now, enjoy the show!

**_Chapter Four: First Contact_**

Ren walks at a brisk pace borderline on running with Makoto right behind him. As soon as he arrives at the clinic, he gives her and Takemi the short version of things.

He has never seen Takemi bolts so fast.

The trip to the apartment Mochizuki is staying is with a full sprint, and he sees Makoto takes off her shoes partway through. Takemi had snatched his phone away and is still talking with the other boy, her instructions concise. This is the first time, Ren admits, of seeing Takemi looking _worried._

When they arrive at the room, all he sees spells _anguish_.

The furniture is left in odd places, there’s a few stacks of used tissue papers littering the floor, and some of them had _blood_ on it. The bedsheets are crumpled and damp, the AC way too cold for comfort.

Yuuki sits there on the bed, barely moving, his face pale and sweating.

“Has he had any trauma? Any underlying diseases? Any unusual things happening at all?” Takemi asks as she puts the boy down on his back. Makoto’s breath hitches beside him upon the sight of the boy’s exposed chest. There are fingernail marks on them.

 _Bloodied fingernail marks_.

Mochizuki had stepped back, letting the doctor do her work. His breaths are uneven at best, and his eyes betray no emotions; he’s terrified shitless, and there’s nothing he can do.

The waking boy slaps himself. “No. No trauma, nothing. He was a little sick and weak a few days ago, like trembling hands and stuff. Pain worsens last night and he just— he’s okay just an hour ago—”

“Pulse still stable, not weak,” She says, fingers touching and examining. Yuuki moans, his body seems to move away from Takemi on its own. “Pain on touch. Heavy breathing— lungs are fine. High fever. Kid, grabs the needles, syringes and the vial with red/green label.”

Ren blinks then immediately does as he’s told, Makoto helping him prepare the needles. Takemi snatches a rubber band from the box she had and ties it around Yuuki’s arm, forcibly bulging his veins for easier access.

As the doctor busies herself with stabilizing the boy, Ren goes over to Mochizuki. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” He says, half-pulling at his hair. “I don’t know what’s going on and I can do _nothing!_ ”

Morgana pokes his head from his bag and sniffs. “He smells like death.”

“Don’t say that, Morgana!” Makoto hisses. “And what do you even mean by that?”

“Something’s wrong with him,” Morgana continues, his eyes hard. “This isn’t something normal. I don’t know for certain _what,_ but if I have to guess, this must be something similar to doings of the Shadows.”

Ren frowns. If a normal person is attacked by Shadows, there’s no telling what can happen next. It would explain a lot if he’s a Persona User, however. He’d have to probe around for answers later.

This is bad.

Takemi sits back slightly, exhaling. “He’s not in an immediate danger, for now. But his symptoms look similar to having a bloodstream infection. You need to take him to the hospital.”

“We can’t,” Mochizuki says with a pained face.

“But—”

“We can’t, doc,” He says firmly, his expression torn. His knuckles turn white as he fists his hands into balls and looks at the ground. “Please, just give him something. Anything.”

“…Fine, but don’t blame me if it worsens,” She finally relents. Ren is about to open his mouth — he has money, he can cover the costs. But Mochizuki just shakes his head and looks at Yuuki.

Takemi follows his eyes and starts administering some drugs before hanging a saline bag, then starts instructing the boy how and when to administer which drugs.

It takes half an hour, but the doctor makes sure everything is ready in case of emergency, and gives the boy her numbers before she reluctantly walks out.

“Thanks, Amamiya,” He says quietly after Takemi left, one hand dragging the chair nearer to the bed and sits down, eyes not leaving Yuuki. “You saved us.”

“You should take him to the hospital,” He says. “I can cover for—”

“Money isn’t our only problems,” He cuts Ren off with a strained smile. “It’s okay. We’ll be fine, for now. Don’t worry about us.”

“…Do you need help taking care of him?” Ren offers. The boy shakes his head.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m good.”

This time, Makoto steps up and forcefully sits beside the boy. She gives him a nod, and he mouths _are you sure?_ At her, to which she replies with another firm nod.

Mochizuki tries to protest, but his Priestess has her ways of... stifling any oppositions.

So he leaves, trusting his girlfriend to at least take care of Yuuki for now.

* * *

When the door is closed, Ryoji begins again.

“Seriously, you don’t need to—”

“You’re clearly distressed,” She cuts him off. With her forcefulness and the attitude of taking no for an answer, he’s reminded of Kirijou Mitsuru. Her red eyes even look like _hers_. “Allow me to keep you company for a time, hm…”

“Mochizuki Ryoji.”

“Niijima Makoto,” She responds.

“You have the same first name as him,” He says with a small smile, nodding the boy’s way. “He’s my best friend. Yuuki Makoto.”

“I see,” She says slowly. “I heard you two are starting your third year at Shujin this year?”

“Yeah, I guess we are,” He murmurs.

Makoto is breathing slower than when he received the call from the doctor (she’s scary, and that’s something, coming from a grim reaper), and his face looks a bit more peaceful. He smiles sadly. At least Makoto can rest for a short while longer, without much suffering.

He then feels like it’d be rude to leave the lady with the silence for too long, so he turns to her and gives her a less tired, more genuine smile. He doesn’t want to divulge too much right now, even if they are Persona Users. No, especially _because_ they’re Persona Users.

But he has to at least say something. Because going to the hospital would actually worsen all of it.

“This isn’t some _bloodstream infections_. This is something a bit… weirder, I guess?” He says, tilting his head to the side. He can hear that cat clearly, and he thinks what the cat said is true. This is either the work of the Shadows, or something from _up there._

 _Erebus_.

And bringing him to a place where Shadows concentrations are high is just asking to be punched into a coffin. If his guess is right… going anywhere with negative emotions right now is going to hurt.

“You guess?” She says, eyes squinting slightly.

“I don’t know, but I used to have friends who died with infections before. This isn’t like it,” He lies, blatantly so. But it’s not like he’s going to get caught so easily. He’s a master of deception, after all, seeing that he even deceived the entirety of the SEES once.

“That’s true,” She nods along.

They spend a few more moments talking about stuffs, schools (who knew there were _so many shitty people_ inside that place? Goddamnit, Makoto), and just Tokyo in general. Talking with her has been very helpful (both information and mental-wise), and it seems he had thwarted any suspicions away from them for now.

The sun starts to go down, and he urges the girl to go. She gives him a hard look, but he reassures her. “We’re going to be fine. If anything happens, I’ll let Amamiya know. You’ll know by proxy too, right?”

“That isn’t convincing at all,” She says, glancing at Makoto. “But I’ll let you handle it from here. Here’s my number –” She practically _shoves_ it into his hands “– so call me if you need help. If you _do_ need help of any kind and I find my call history empty, I’m going to _bury_ you deep into the concrete. Are we clear?”

Well, that’s… extreme. “Yes, Ma’am,” He pauses, then smiles. “Thanks, for staying.”

She turns to him one last time before giving him a smile. “Anytime.”

* * *

Makoto wakes up with a slightly toned-down headache.

He groans.

“You’re awake,” Ryoji say, shifting from his chair – he guesses, he still has his eyes close so he doesn’t know – and putting a hand on his forehead. “Your fever’s down, too. Good.”

“What happened…?” He asks. He remembers Ryoji calling Amamiya, and then he just… blanks out.

“You threw up blood, started panting really hard, passed out, and looked half dead? Yeah, that’s about it,” Ryoji lists the events in quick successions. It took his mind a full minute and ten seconds to actually process all of that.

“Oh,” Is all he manages out after he realizes what shit hole he had just gone through this time.

“I thought you were going to die for a moment there,” Ryoji murmurs, his voice trembling slightly. Makoto opens his eyes, to see that Ryoji looks much worse than the last time he sees the other’s face; he’s pale, and jittery.

“…Sorry,”

“Told you this isn’t your fault,” Ryoji jabs his forehead. When he pulls back, he wears a stern expression, his eyes looking somewhere further away. “The cat that’s with Amamiya can _talk_. He thinks this looks like work of Shadows, and I’m inclined to agree.”

“Shadows?” He rasps. “But I haven’t –”

He hadn’t fought one, right? Unless…

“Not here. But up there,” Ryoji finishes his thoughts.

 _Erebus_.

“Must be –” He pauses to take in air. God, breathing still hurts and he _hates_ it. “The fog… before Elizabeth got us out… that must be when…”

“Yeah. And if this is the work of _that thing_ , then the cure isn’t going to be easy to come by,” He says, his brows furrowing further. “But it seems pain meds of certain kind works. Your pain is similar to neuralgia, from what the doctor said, so she gave me her numbers and lots of said meds. It’ll help curb the pain somewhat.”

He nods.

“How’re you feeling now, Makoto? Any better?” Ryoji asks, still busy adjusting the saline bags hanging above his head. Makoto blinks slowly, and his lack of response make Ryoji a bit more paranoid. “Makoto?”

“I’m still here,” He reassures him, eyes focusing nowhere in particular. “I’m better, I think… Don’t think I can… get out of bed anytime soon, though.”

Even a single complete sentence takes him almost half a minute to finish. Well. This suck.

“Alright. Looks like apart from the pain, you also get yourself an infection,” Ryoji explains, pointing at vials after vials. Only then did Makoto realize he had a Heparin Lock at the back of his hand. “The doctor said you need a thrice-daily antibiotics for a week.”

“…m’kay,” He acknowledges weakly. It looks like his Fool’s Journey is going to get a lot more complicated with… whatever the hell all these shits are.

“You should sleep. You look like you need to pass out.”

“M’kay.”

“Makoto,” Ryoji sighs before smiling warmly. “You’ll be fine. I’m here, remember?”

He blinks, then turns to fully look at his friend, then smiles a little in return.

That’s right.

He’s not alone.

“Yeah,” He whispers. “…’Night.”

“Night, Makoto. Sleep well.”

* * *

“Illness from Shadows, huh…”

The others seem as concerned as he is when he relayed what had happened yesterday. Akechi is sadly nowhere to be found, but almost everyone else (excepted for Futaba, who needs a nap), is here. Ren crosses his arms over his chest and looks at the floor.

“I checked on them this morning. Yuuki-kun is still sleeping. At least he has more color in him now,” Makoto says, sitting next to him and patting his knee lightly. She regards him with a small smile before continuing. “Mochizuki-kun is doing a stellar job at it, too, so at least there’s nothing to immediately worry about.”

“Thank god,” Takamaki slides halfway off the couch at that. “If he gets worse, our plans to visit the Mementos are going to get even more hectic than it is.”

That’s right, they’re planning to visit the Mementos as soon as everyone’s schedules are free. Because of the guns Akechi got and all the sketchy shits that had been going on, they can’t _not_ go there and check.

If things are going to change, Mementos is the first place that’s going to be affected.

“Well,” He begins, taking off his glasses and put it on the table. “Looks like the Phantom Thieves are officially reformed. First, we need to constantly check on Yuuki and anyone around him.”

“In case this illness or whatever it is can spread,” Makoto adds. “I doubt it, because Mochizuki-kun doesn’t seem to develop any kind of symptoms. But then again, better safe than sorry.”

“And then we visit the Mementos,” Ren says. “But… I checked, and the requirement for the keywords are gone. I think it’s weird, and I can enter the Metaverse just fine, only… it’s not _just_ the subway. Everywhere around it has become a Metaverse.”

“For real?” Ryuji says, scowling. “That means we ain’t entering Palaces no more, but rather the Metaverse as a whole, now?”

“Who knows?” Takamaki says. “Ugh, this talk of Mementos and Metaverse is starting to confuse the hell outta me again.”

“I’m with you on that one,” Ren says, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Anyways, we’ll enter at the same place as usual – the place outside of the Mementos might change, but I doubt the people’s _Palace_ would disappear. After all, the Nav didn’t delete itself even after Maruki’s Palace.”

“Right! That reminds me,” Morgana says, making his way onto the table. He lets Yoshizawa pets his head a little before he continues. “I checked with Futaba yesterday. She managed to track down the sender of the money partway through before the signal is cut, and it brings us to a name.”

“A name?” Ren asks, tilting his head.

“Seems money is wired from the same account to someone else, too,” He says, sniffing. “Someone named Shirogane Naoto.”

* * *

“ _Ten million!?_ ”

“Shh!” Shirogane immediately slaps her hand over Rise’s mouth. She looks around to make sure no one is looking before continuing. “Yes, someone wired this much money to me. I tried tracing it back, but I couldn’t get anywhere.”

“Someone’s desperate to get our attention,” Yu says, brows furrowed. “First visiting Rise with these… _gun-like things_ , then you. Do we at least have a name to work with?”

“I doubt it’s a real name, but yes,” Shirogane says. Rise nods and puts a small card down on the table.

_We know who you are. Stay put, we’ll contact you soon. – Artemisia._

“Artemisia…” He frowns. “If I have to take a wild guess, I think that’s this person’s _Persona_.”

“Welp!” Satonako quips up. “They just threw a curve ball at us.”

“They did,” Yu agrees, crossing his arms, his black coffee forgotten. Even the usually cheerful Kuma is oddly quiet. He picks one of the guns and turns it in his hand. It’s light, too light to be firing any live rounds, but not light enough to be plastic gun.

The materials are much more valuable than cheap plastic, that’s for sure. And there’s this weird instruction stuck to the inside of the briefcase. But he’s not brave (or idiotic) enough to try pointing the gun to his head and pull the trigger. He likes his life, thanks.

And there are enough guns for each of them.

“How do I put this,” Yosuke begins, twirling the fork in his hand. The cake is only half eaten, and the brown-haired tries to stab it with the fork and misses. He doesn’t seem to notice. “All of this means something big is happening, right? If we’re going to believe this person is a Persona User, then it’s also safe to assume as much, and this time, they want our help.”

“But why the secrecy?” Shirogane asks. There is no answer to that, and the girl ponders. “If you want a fellow Persona-user’s cooperation, it might be safer to actually explaining the situations right away. Most Persona users fight for the same goals, so it’s not that dangerous to assume their situations would incite us to act.”

“Maybe they fear there might be someone who’d work with the enemies among us, like Adachi-san,” Yu surmises. That brings out a round of agreements from his peers. “But to contact us through the two of you? They’re pretty bold.”

“They sure are,” Tatsumi says. He plays with his hand-knitted doll as he speaks. “But man, ten million? And a briefcase of guns? As if they’re asking us to kill someone or something.”

The table falls silent.

“Anyways, I think –” Shirogane is about to say something when her phone rings. All their attentions are on her as she pulls the phone out of her purse and stares at the screen.

She shows the screen. The name _Alibaba_ in red is slapped across it.

“…Who’s Alibaba?” Amagi questions. Yu shakes his head.

“Should you be answering that, Naoto-chan?” Rise asks, concerned, as Shirogane’s finger reaches the green answer button. “I mean… the timing’s just…”

“There’s no harm. Well, no further harm, since they already know about us,” Yu says, leaning back against his seat. “Good thing we ask for the karaoke room. You can put that on speaker, Shirogane.”

“Alright. Here goes nothing.”

“ _Good Morning, Shirogane Naoto-san,”_ The voice, heavily distorted, speaks from the other end. They remain silent, except for Shirogane, who frowns.

“Who is this?”

“ _I’m Alibaba,_ ” The voice answers. Well, that doesn’t really help, like, at all. Shirogane sighs into her hand and rubs the bridge of her nose. “ _You might meet us, probably. But first, we need to ask you one thing._ ”

“And what might that be?”

 _“Do you know a person named Artemisia?_ ”

* * *

When Makoto wakes up (he really _hates_ it when his memories just keep skipping from one waking up to the next) again, it’s morning.

The room is much cleaner now, he’s feeling much better. Someone (there’s only one, really) changed his cloth into a more comfortable T-shirt and pants, and took care of all his IVs.

He sits up, the dizziness minimal at most, only to find Ryoji lying on the floor.

He looks over the edge of the bed. “…Ryoji, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” The other says, looking at him and smiles. The boy springs to his feet and almost headbutts him on the way up. He looks at Makoto up and down before grinning. “You look better. I thought it might take you longer than this, but three days of recovery time isn’t so bad, huh?”

“I was in and out of it for _three_ days?” He shoots back, blinking wildly. He then checks his phone.

_March 9 th, 7.21 am_

“Goddamnit.”

“Hey, no cursing now. All’s well that ends well, right?” Ryoji chides lightly. Makoto moves to sit up straight on the bed, still a bit woozy. “If you’re getting better then that’s good. But it might happen again so we’ve got to watch out.”

His stomach churns slightly at the thought. Being in that state is not… an entertaining thought. “Yeah. I know.”

“But for now, we’re safe,” Ryoji says as he moves to sit beside Makoto on the bed and rummages through files after files on his phone before stopping with one and shows it to him. It’s a picture of a building, and a bunch of fliers and posters.

“Um… what’s this?”

“Shujin,” He says. “Amamiya sent it to me yesterday. They’re pretty nice, come checking us out every day. They’ll be here soon, probably, so they’ll be glad to see you’re awake.”

“You sure they still don’t know about us, right?” He narrows his eyes, in which he receives a shrug in response.

“Apparently, they think your illness comes from a Shadow, but it doesn’t seem it crosses their minds that you’re a Persona user _yet_. The cat can’t tell, so we’re safe… as along as we don’t slip up or run into any of your old friends, that is.”

He winces at the idea. Running into _any_ of them is going to be awkward as all hell.

“Anyways, Makoto,” Ryoji snaps him out of his musing and points at the window. “After Amamiya visit us, wanna walk around Tokyo for a bit? Then we’re going to take care of things in Shujin. I also scouted a place called Big Bang Burger, so that should be a treat.”

“…Just how long did it take you to do all that while I was asleep?” He asks.

“A few hours,” He shrugs. “Ask Amamiya to look after you for a bit while I go looking for places and buy some… um, _wallets_.”

He snorts. “Yeah right. _Buy_ wallets.”

“Aaaaaanyways,” Ryoji quickly changes the subject. Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle a little at that. “I did find us a gym, they hosted MMA and HEMA clubs, too. You know. To work on your fighting skills.”

“Gee, thank you,” He says dryly. “But yeah, I could use that.”

“Let’s visit all of those places once our new friend is here, then!”

He smiles slightly.

_Friends, huh?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! How was it? Hope you like this chapter as well, my guys!
> 
> Next chapter is going to be even more of a slice of life than this one, but hey, that's always a good thing. Makoto and Ryoji really, really need some love.
> 
> Alright, see you next chapter, folks!


	5. Glimpse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then again, if he had been returned to life, then life is going to throw some shit back at him. 
> 
> The lights and the water suddenly stop running, and he curses at them before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. He steps out to find Ryoji, wide-eyed, staring at the sky. Makoto then notice the room — it’s in a green-yellow tint.
> 
> The moon is bright in the sky, its yellow light shining through their windows. Sounds of some unearthly roars fill the background, instead of the car passing and horn blowing. 
> 
> And the next second, everything returns to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooyah! Welcome back, ladies and gents!
> 
> This time, more slice of life, because why not, right? :D
> 
> In this chapter we have; Thieves' chaotic nature, Door-koto's addiction to caffeine, the meeting...
> 
> ...and a prologue to some deep shit, coming right up!
> 
> Enjoy, my readers!

**_Chapter Five: Glimpse_**

“Hey.”

Amamiya says as soon as Ryoji opens the door. He greets him with a small nod and throws his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting a bit hunched (he still can’t fix his posture. Welp, whatever, he guesses) and resting his cheek on his hand. “Hey. Thanks for helping me.”

“No problem. You look a lot better, that’s good,” Amamiya comments, sitting on a chair Ryoji provides. The cat shifts and pops its head out of the bag, but the boy pays it little mind. “How’re you feeling now?”

“Less like dying and more like catching a cold,” He states. As if on cue, he sneezes. “…Sorry.”

The other laughs and lifts up a hand, signalling that he doesn’t really mind, then turns to Ryoji. “Oh yeah, you said he’s good enough to move around now, right?”

“Yeah,” Ryoji confirms, hands behind his head in a carefree posture. “Should be good now, so after this we plan to take a little tour around to Tokyo and get in touch with the school a bit, just to straighten the papers out.”

“Want me to show you around?” Amamiya offers.

Makoto sees no harm in that, so he nods at Ryoji then says. “If it’s not too much of a trouble.”

“I plan on hanging out with my friends today, so I’ll tell them you’re coming,” He states, quickly tapping away at his phone. “They’ll be delighted to hear you’re better now.”

“I’m still angry at you just casually putting me on speaker phone, you know,” Ryoji comments off-handedly, and that got Amamiya to stop cold in his tracks for almost a minute.

“Um. Sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Ryoji says with a laugh, waving his hands. The cat meows, and Makoto makes a confused face. Didn’t he say this cat can talk? “So, meet you at the school? Gotta get the paperwork done soon so there’s that.”

“Sure thing,” He says with a nod. “What’d you like to eat?”

“Anything, I suppose. But a few cups of coffee and a few plates of dessert would be nice,” Makoto says, shrugging his shoulders. “But I warn you, I can drink and eat a lot.”

“Can confirm, he could probably eat more than one of those Big Bang Burgers if he’s hungry enough.”

“Is that a challenge?” Amamiya says with a grin, and Makoto just throws Ryoji a dirty glare. The other pretends he doesn’t see it. Seeing their exchanges, the frizzly-haired laughs. “Alright, alright. Then see you in two hours at the café near the school gate? I’m gonna go get some of my friends first.”

“Sure,” Ryoji confirms, giving Amamiya a thumbs up.

.

Once Amamiya is gone, Ryoji throws at him a more formal attire, a neck tie, and —

“Did you just buy me earphones?” He says, laughing merrily. He immediately plugs it in and throws the thing over his neck. “A bit small, but it feels good to have one of these around my neck again. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Ryoji says with a grin. “Now, now, get dressed, we’re gonna go and be done with all this transfer thing. They will make us take a short test so be prepared.”

That’s when they both realize one thing.

_Shit._

_They haven’t even looked at the answers yet!_

* * *

“Hey there, Renren!”

He turns at his nickname. True enough, his friends are already gathered at a café near Shujin. Takamaki is busy eating the waffles with the girls while Ryuji and Kitagawa just sit there, having a disjointed conversation. He waves before joining them at the big table.

He sets Morgana down on Makoto’s lap. “Hey. How’s yesterday going?”

“Fun,” Futaba says. “Called Shirogane. Been fun messing around with their phones. Aside from that, they got the same things as us; weird guns, ten million to the group’s “detective prince”, and cryptic messages.”

“How did you even coerce them to spill that much anyway?” Ren says with a slight frown. And they are Persona-users, too?

“It’s a hard decision, but I decided to say, with Alibaba’s name of course, that we’re Phantom Thieves and fellow Persona users.”

He does a spit take into Ryuji’s face (sorry) and has to sneeze the coke out of his _nose. “_ You _what!?_ ”

“Dude!” Ryuji protests, but Ren ignores him.

“It’s necessary!” She defends, pouting. The girls give him their own glares, so he just hides his eyes under the lights his glasses reflect. “But I got them to open up a little. I set a date for you to meet their leader later, Joker. You okay with that, right?”

And Futaba doesn’t even give him a _choice._

He sighs then nods. Not like he’s going to get any more information without meeting them in person anyway. He sits straight up and orders coffee. “Tell Akechi and Yoshizawa, too. And tell the former I’m dragging his ass to this meeting whether he likes it or not.”

“Roger that!” Futaba salutes.

“So,” Takamaki starts, chewing on the strawberry. “You said he’s coming, right? That Yuuki guy.”

“Yeah. He said he needed to take some tests first so he’ll be a bit late,” He says, remembering the boys looking absolutely _frantic_ when they ran past him. He snorts at the memories. “He looks a lot better, so I think this Shadow-related illness thing is resolved. For now.”

“Is it possible that he might be a Persona-User?” Takamaki asks, waving her fork around. “I mean, you can’t really get attacked by a Shadow without entering the Metaverse, right?”

“It’s a possibility,” He nods, sipping on the slightly stale coffee. _I can do better than this_ , he notes. “But I doubt it. I asked Mochizuki a few times, probing around and such. They didn’t seem to have ever gone into the Metaverse before.”

“But he’s not Yuuki. Can’t one enter the Metaverse without the other?” She scoffs.

“I mean he can, but I don’t think he would. They’re practically attached,” Ren says, recounting the scarfed boy taking care of Yuuki. That ain’t something that just _best friends_ would do for each other. It’s a bit more than that. Brothers? _Lovers?_

He coughs at the last idea. But hey, it’s still feasible.

“I have to agree with him,” Makoto says. “They’re inseparable. They are on a higher level than just being _best friends,_ and if a way to enter the Metaverse appears for them, I have little doubt they’ll share it before going in.”

And they have to listen to that. Even Queen thinks so. Who wouldn’t?

“And that means _one_ thing,” Morgana pokes his head over the table. “That, somehow, the Shadows are affecting the real world, right?”

“That could be a problem,” Haru adds, her usually soft expression replaced by a frown. “But we’ll have to wait and take a look at the Mementos to be certain.”

“True,” Ren nods.

“By the way, I did some more thinking,” Takamaki begins, waving her fork around a little bit. Ryuji looks like he’s about to say something, but he suddenly yelps. Must’ve been kicked, Ren notes. “Is it possible that what this Artemisia does is, say, trying to provoke us to act on our own?

“It’s highly likely,” He agrees, taking a few more sips. “The guns and the cryptic message aren’t a hint. I think it’s possible that they know something is wrong, but not _what_. Maybe they’re goading us into acting. Who knows?”

“It still doesn’t change the fact that we _have_ to investigate,” Kitagawa says, arms crossed. “The guns are only there to make us make a move faster, that fact is undeniable. Still, it also means that they seem to realize something is happening, and that they know we _can_ and _will_ get involve.”

“In other words,” Futaba says. “We’re spied on, and led by the nose.”

“That’s just _great_ ,” He bites out. “Well, we can talk about this later. This whole thing is killing my already low motivation, so let’s change the subject for now.”

Unsurprisingly, they all agree.

They chat a bit more about both work-related stuffs and other trivial things, mostly for the sake of killing time. It takes only around ten or so minutes afterwards before the doorbell chimes, and the two he is waiting for walk in.

Mochizuki is talking quite energetically, a hand on Yuuki’s shoulder, while the other simply smile and listened. When they see them, Mochizuki waves and jogs over while Yuuki slowly follow suit.

“Hey there! Sorry to keep you waiting,” He bows slightly, then he eyes the girls, winking. “Good afternoon to you, ladies.”

They seem a bit taken aback, and Ren must say that this man’s charm is just through the roof, because even _his_ _Makoto_ is blushing.

Yuuki yawns. “Stop that, Ryoji. You’re being creepy.”

Mochizuki feigns being hurt. “Am not! You wound me, Makoto!”

Ryuji leans on Ren and grins. “Hey there! You guys gonna be at Shujin this year, right? I’m Renren’s pal, Sakamoto Ryuji! Nice meeting ya!”

“Mochizuki Ryoji,” The taller boy says, smiling, then slaps Yuuki’s shoulder lightly. “This here is Yuuki Makoto! He’s a bit shy, but please take care of him!”

“I’m _not_ shy,” Yuuki hisses, slapping his arm off before he addresses them with a small bow. “Nice meeting you.”

They exchange rounds of greetings and introductions before the Thieves scoot over, Yuuki sitting at the girl’s side while Mochizuki got stuck between Kitagawa and Ryuji.

“Makoto, _whyyy_ ,”

“Because I know you’re going to make lots of shameless comments. Can it.”

Ryuji laughs and throws his arm around Mochizuki’s neck, jabbing his side. “Are you that bad a womanizer that your pal had to call you out so nonchalantly, mate?”

“I’m not, he’s just being mean,” Mochizuki pouts. Ren turns to see Yuuki just rolling his eyes as he bows his head slightly in apology to the girls. That bring a snicker out of the Trickster, alright.

Takamaki leans over and looks Yuuki up and down before commenting with a grin, pointing at the boy with her fork. “Hey, you look kinda cute. Yuuki, right?”

The boy is obviously not used to that, because he coughs and spills some coffee out of his nose. He quickly looks away, wipes himself clean, before clearing his throat. “Uh… yeah. Thanks for the... compliment?”

“Aw, your reaction’s adorable, too!” Takamaki squeals.

Haru beams at the boy and leans a bit over, so that Takamaki’s head won’t obscure her vision. Yuuki is still blushing by the time Haru talks. “Nice meeting you, Yuuki-kun. I and Mako-chan here are graduates, so feel free to ask us anything!”

“’Kay,” He says meekly, attention going back to his coffee. He then looks up a little. “Thanks for having us. You sure we’re not bothering you?”

“Of course not,” Ren offers with a smile. He then looks over at Mochizuki. “How was the test?”

The boys say in unison. “We’re dead.”

He laughs. “Is it that hard?”

“No, we just nearly missed the time to send it over. Not enough time to write answers down, rather,” Mochizuki explains, taking a bite out of a honey toast. “Teaches kept piling one paper after the other, I thought I’m gonna die!”

“But we did pass with flying colours, so there’s that,” Yuuki adds. “Fingers are numb though.”

“Totally,”

“I heard those kinda tests are hard, right? Means you two are super smart then!” Ryuji says with a grin while Kitagawa nods along.

“I must agree. Shujin’s exams are rumoured to be quite tough, after all. I’m glad the two of you did okay,” The Fox says, arms crossed and nodding his approvals.

“By the way,” Makoto begins. “I’m glad you’re up and about. You looked like death a few days ago.”

Yuuki nods a little and takes another sip of his coffee. Wait a sec, how many cups is that now!? “Thanks for helping, too.”

.

They spend some more time chatting and learning more about the two boys. A shameless question from Ryuji (damnit dude, don’t be so straight) about them being lovers have them spit their respective drinks then laugh for about a straight minute.

They do indeed know they’re being abnormally close – they even finish each other’s sentences _during_ this – but they both fervently deny being more than close friends.

After Makoto punishes the blonde (by pulling him outside by the ear and doing _god knows what_ ) and returns to her seat, Yuuki had already started on his eleventh cup, and Mochizuki is eating an ice cream resting on top of a pile of plates. Ren looks at them in surprise.

“Just how big are your appetites?” Kitagawa asks, face half horrified. Ren would have to agree; they’re eating a bit… much. Like they’re ravenously hungry or something.

Mochizuki forks a banana slice and eats it before pointing at Yuuki. “You haven’t seen the worst of it yet. And trust me when I say you probably don’t wanna.”

Yuuki takes one long sip then places the cup back on the table, clapping his hands together and bow slightly. “Thanks for the drinks.”

“So, where’re we going next?” Mochizuki inquires, a smile on his lips. He pulls out his wallet and throws it at Yuuki, who catches it without really looking. “You guys have a place in mind, right?”

“Place _s_ ,” Ren emphasizes on the plurality of the word. “No way in hell we’re welcoming you with just a few minutes’ walk. And welcome to Shujin. Hope we get along.”

The scarfed boy grins back. “Thanks a bunch. We’ll be in your care.”

* * *

They day is over before they realize it.

Makoto and Ryoji had fun, if he has to say, aside from the dull, aching pain he still feels all over his body (thank you for fucking _nothing_ , Erebus). These people’s company reminds him much of his old friends. Makoto briefly wonders what and how they’re doing now.

After they settle down back in the room, Ryoji nudges him and takes one earbud from his neck and puts it inside his ear. With another nudge, he points at Makoto’s phone. “I saw you listening to music _all the time_ during the tour. C’mon, give me something good.”

He finds himself chuckling. “Alright, alright.”

His fingers work their way to navigating the playlists (he’s still not used to these new stuffs), and finally settle on one Ryoji would like. He reduced the volume a little (and he still can’t fix his habit of ramping the volume up to the max) and press play. _Self Redemption_ , the first song’s called.

Ryoji’s brows quirk a little, but he soon bobs his head along. “This song is pretty good. I like it.”

“I know you would,” Makoto says.

They spend their time listening through the playlist, with Ryoji’s occasional comments or just them talking about random stuff that happened during the day. Makoto finds himself relaxing quite a lot, all the burden of the world briefly forgotten. Even with his body arching and hurting, they’re not that detrimental. And frankly? He thinks he could get used to it.

It feels nice, to be a teenager with a close — no, _the closest_ — friend.

After a while, the playlist ends, and he yawns. Ryoji just laughs at him and pushes his pajamas in his arms. Pulling the earbud off and handing it to him, the other stands up. “I’mma take a shower after you, so go ahead.”

“I’m surprised you even _need_ to shower,” He quips, uncharacteristic grin on his face. “Aren’t you a Persona?”

“I’m _also_ living and breathing!” Ryoji whines, then pouts at him. “You’re so mean, Makoto.”

“Sorry,” He says, unapologetically so.

“Meanie.”

“Shuddup,” He says, shoving Ryoji lightly before grabbing his things and walking into the shower.

He lets water smash into his head and cascade down his body. It’s been _so_ long since he has had the chance to enjoy everyday life. After his return, he’s been assaulted with pain and episodes of waking up multiple times (thank-fucking-you, _again_ , Erebus). Only when all of those shit show slow down did he had the chance to enjoy life, and when he does, he finds it quite relaxing.

Then again, if he had been returned to life, then life is going to throw some shit back at him.

The lights and the water suddenly stop running, and he curses at them before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist. He steps out to find Ryoji, wide-eyed, staring at the sky. Makoto then notice the room — it’s in a green-yellow tint.

The moon is bright in the sky, its yellow light shining through their windows. Sounds of some unearthly roars fill the background, instead of the car passing and horn blowing.

And the next second, everything returns to normal.

The sound of shower in the background can’t drown out his thoughts as they spin, the water dropping from his skin and the AC that would normally make him chilly and running back into the shower fare no better.

His pale gray eyes lock with sapphire, and they speak in unison and terror.

“ _The Dark Hour._ ”

.

He takes his shower faster than he’d ever had, and as soon as he’s done, he slams the door open to see that the world is, indeed, normal.

“What the fuck was that?” He asks, knowing full well that there’s no mistaking the Dark Hour. But it’s too damn short.

“It’s way too brief, but I can feel it; that’s the Dark Hour,” Ryoji confirms his suspicion, face dark as he presses his lips into a thin line. “What the hell? Is this because Erebus has descended?”

“We need to get working on navigating the Metaverse,” Makoto says.

“Yeah,” Ryoji agrees. “We really need to.”

* * *

Yu yawns as he sits on the same bench he did last time, Shirogane standing not too far off from him, her face stern and arms crossed.

The Phantom Thieves, or so they claimed to be, want to meet them today. So Yu, being the leader, decides to come here by himself, at first. However, Shirogane insists on helping him negotiate and, should things get worse, cause distractions.

He hopes it doesn’t come to that.

A black cat then appears behind them, and with it two young men; one wearing a T-shirt and a black jacket, unkempt hair and a pair of glasses. The other, following suit with a much more annoyed look, brown hair and _that_ coat and gloves in the spring, nods briefly at them.

“Hello, Narukami-san. Shirogane-san,” The boy in black greets them with a small bow. The cat hops from the ground onto the bench and sits beside him. Yu blinks.

“It’s rude to not introduce yourselves, you know,” Shirogane says, one hand discreetly holding onto her revolver.

“Sorry,” The other boy says. “We’re with Alibaba, and while I’m not part of the Phantom Thieves, I’m also involved in the matter. Akechi Goro.”

“Amamiya Ren,” The black-haired introduces himself. “And that’s Morgana.”

The cat meows— no, it _says_ , “Hello.”

They fall silent for a couple of minutes. 

Yu breaks it by saying monotonously. “Why can you talk?”

“See? Told you this’ll work out,” Morgana says, licking his paw. “I might look like this, but I’m also a Persona-User! And no, I’m not a cat.”

“Sure you aren’t,” The boy, Amamiya, interjects. He nods at them both again before continuing, taking off his glasses to reveal a rather piercing pair of black eyes. “Sorry for all the lies, but we have to be sure you guys are also Persona Users.”

“At least you give us your names,” Shirogane says with a heavy sigh. “I guess we can trust you to some extent. So? You received them too? The guns and the cryptic message?”

“Indeed, we did,” Akechi says, arms crossed. “But after some discussions, it seems like we can agree on the fact that they sent us all of these not to confuse us or hint us of something… but to _encourage_ us to start investigating.”

“That irks me, too,” Yu says. “I mean… most Persona Users have the same or similar motives, because that’s kind of a requirement to even have a Persona. While it’s true some are not good people, we are both pretty large groups… and if they know who we are, then it’s safe to assume they _should_ know what we’re like, at least on the surface… which brings us to the main question –”

“Why the secrecy,” Akechi finishes for him. “That, we do not know.”

“We’ll need to talk of this in further details with all of our respective members,” Amamiya states, brows furrow slightly as he continues. “It’s also just a single case, but I’m sure this is the start of something big. One of my friends was nearly dead, and Morgana says he smelt like Shadows had attacked him.”

“Is he—?”

“He’s not a Persona User, as far as we can tell,” Amamiya replies instantly.

Yu sighs and lets himself relax on the bench. “It seems both of us are getting involved in some deep trouble, and whoever this Artemisia is knows about it.”

“Likely,” Amamiya nods along. “We might have to meet them in due time. But before that, I’d like to make a proposal.”

“What kind of proposal?” Shirogane asks, tilting her head.

“There is a place, a Metaverse that reflect our world. We call it Mementos,” Amamiya begins. “It’s like a place created from the distortion of people’s hearts. Last we checked it’s as normal as it looks, but—”

A reflection of people’s hearts. And Shadows are negative emotions made manifest, which means…

“If anything’s changing, that’d be the first place to feel the distortion,” Yu summarizes. “And you want us to help you investigate.”

“Yes.”

He exchanges a look with Shirogane, who makes a face torn between convinced and distrust. She decides to go for the former and nods at him with a heavy expression on her face.

Yu nods. “Very well. When and how do we enter this place?”

“If it works with you, in a few days? We need to make some preparations first.”

“Alright.”

Well.

This is definitely interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! How was it this time?
> 
> Next chapter we will have some disturbing things going on, and Makoto, again, is going to hate his second life very, very much.
> 
> I'm not a nice person. Seeing my beloved characters in pain fuels me!
> 
> Well, do look forward to the next time! And see you soon!


	6. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The word forms in his mouth. The strange word he has never heard before. 
> 
> He doesn’t care.
> 
> He wants this power.
> 
> He needs it.
> 
> “Come, Ifrit!”
> 
> He pulls the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am backkkkkkkk!
> 
> I'm really hype for this chapter, because I have to shift my writing style a little to suit the situation during the middle part. Yeah, what you read above is exactly that ^
> 
> Anyways, I really can't resist the urge to fuck things up just because. Sorry :P
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one as well!

**_Chapter Six: Awakening_**

That night, neither of them catch a wink of sleep.

Even if it’s short, the reappearance of the Dark Hour means that something big had happened – as big as the arrival of _Death_ , no less – and that the whole damn world is affected by it.

And frankly, Makoto is scared.

He knows that he had been given a chance to live, in exchange for completing another Fool’s Journey. He knows it, and he accepts it. Even so, nothing could prepare him properly for another Dark Hour.

Not even Ryoji by his side.

He wakes up before his alarm blare and decides to turn the alarm off. He looks over to the other bed to see Ryoji looking straight at him, his face indicating that he’s thinking the same thing Makoto is. They’re scared – that’s all there is to it, really.

But being afraid doesn’t mean that he won’t have the courage to fight it.

So he gets up, grabs a bottle of water, and looks at his phone. He looks up then says, a little quieter than usual. “Do you want to enter this Metaverse thing today?”

“Sure,” Ryoji nods, getting up. He stretches and yawns. “Might as well. You sure you’re good enough to go?”

“Not going would make me feel shittier,” Makoto replies with a sigh. There are dull aches all over his body, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. “Dammit, and here I thought the Dark Hour business is over, too.”

“Same,” Ryoji says in agreement, his eyes casting downward. Then he looks up a little, brows furrowed. “You gotta stay close to me, though. Since you don’t have an Evoker and all.”

“Oh shit,” He says in horrid realization. Fuck, he just realizes that he _needs_ an Evoker to call his Personas. Wait, then how did those guys use their Personas? “Then how did they use theirs?”

“No idea,” Ryoji says with an apologetic look. “My guess is, the answer’s in the Metaverse. If you can’t then it’s gonna suck a lot.”

“…Yeah.”

“Where’s your Evoker now, anyway? Recalled to the Kirijou Group’s lab?” Ryoji inquires as he gets dress. Makoto doesn’t really care, since he’s seen Ryoji buck naked before (curse you, Kyoto bath).

“Probably. Or maybe someone kept it as a memento. Or maybe it’s with the fishes in the ocean right now,” Makoto mutters, fingers rubbing his chin. Investigating with Ryoji is going to be fine, but without an Evoker he’s going to be a burden –

“Don’t even begin to _think_ you’re a burden, Makoto,” Ryoji chides, flicking his forehead. Makoto lets out an _ow_ as he rubs the sore spot. “You’re not useless without one. You’re me, and I’m you, remember?”

Oh, that’s right. _I am Thou, Thou art I_.

“By the way,” Makoto asks, a little pensive. “What form would you… take?”

“Thanatos, of course,” He replies with a small shrug. “While the Death form and the Nyx Avatar… thing are one of my appearances, I’ve always preferred Thanatos. I feel closer to you that way. Not to mention I’m your strongest Persona, so there’s that, too.”

“Feel closer to me?” Makoto actually feels nice when Ryoji says that… and it also feels weird and kinda gay, so he comments with a chuckle. “If I had been gay, I would’ve fallen for you right here.”

The other splutters, and that makes him laugh harder. “Makoto, _why_.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” He says, wiping the tears off his eyes. After a while, he murmurs, with a solemn face. “We do need allies in this endeavour, though. But…”

“…Involving them in Erebus’ business is just cruel,” He finishes for Makoto. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

To that, Makoto can say nothing.

* * *

Once they properly prepare themselves, they walk to a nearby shrine, where traffic and people are near non-existence.

Makoto brings out his phone, finger nervously hovering over the icon that screams _touch me!_

And that is exactly what he does.

The world shifts and changes, sounds of car horns and distant wind turn into eerie silence, save for occasional sounds of growls and scratching and who knows what. The moon turns sick yellow-green, the sky black, and the whole world in a darker shade.

“This is like a horror movie,” Makoto finally says, putting his phone in his pocket. Ryoji hums in agreement, his blue eyes darting around. “…you’re not obligated to change form?”

“I think so, but hey, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” He says with a smile, slinging his arm on Makoto’s left shoulder. “Thanatos is cumbersome anyway. As long as we don’t run into anything weird or wild, I think we’ll be good.”

“Don’t jinx it,” Makoto says half-seriously. He just can’t stop feeling this nagging at the back of his mind, and his head seems a bit heavier than usual. He blinks the odd feelings away and inhales, then immediately recoils. “Ugh, what a stench…!”

“Smells like death,” Ryoji says after taking a whiff. “We should tread carefully.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Makoto nods as they start walking.

.

Somehow, this Metaverse looks almost exactly the same as the real world.

 _Almost_ being the keyword.

Some buildings look normal, albeit with the sickening green tints. But some buildings have this… grotesque overgrowth of flesh clinging to them, pulsating and emitting a stench so repulsive Makoto did throw up once. The fleshy extensions themselves look like they’re straight out of some Cthulhu mythology, arms and legs and _eyes_ bulging and creaking and _groaning_.

Even Ryoji couldn’t keep his face straight at the sight.

Makoto lets Ryoji leads, as the other seems to have a hunch about where they should first investigate. The other explains that the place with abnormal changes seem to be linked to place with high concentration of negative emotions (and by extensions, _Shadows_ ), so he’s just cautiously leading them to where he feels is most foul.

And then they arrive at a subway entrance.

“Whoa,” Makoto voices as he descends the stairs, eyes looking at the twisting tunnels and ears catching the unearthly voices emitted from within the dark. “This place feels even worse than Tartarus.”

“Much worse,” Ryoji agrees, nose scrunched up slightly. “God, it stinks.”

“It has this… feeling… to it,” Makoto begins, fingers brushing his head as he feels a little nauseous. “No good, this place’s seriously no good at all.”

“Then I guess this is where we start, huh?”

“Yeah,” Makoto nods, stopping beside Ryoji, and in front of a big gate. He looks up and reluctantly puts his hand on it.

The gate immediately creaks open, fouler smell invading his senses, and it takes everything Makoto has not to bend down and lets all of his lunch out of his mouth. Ryoji puts his arm over his lower face as he squints, trying to see beyond the black mists.

“Stay close, Makoto,” Ryoji orders.

Makoto nods as he walks a little closer to the taller boy. The odd scratching inside his skull gets a bit louder, but he pays it no mind. What’s worse is the fact that the atmosphere and the smell worsen his already queasy feeling he’s had in his guts.

Noxious fumes blanket the entire area, and beyond the darkness there’s nothing but maddening whispers and sounds of metal against metal. Makoto frowns as he looks around, fingers twitching, as if he’s trying to fire a non-existing gun.

He exhales, slowing his breath, and slaps his cheeks once. Ryoji turns to look at him.

“What did you do?”

“Centering myself,” He responds. “I can’t believe I’m getting anxious, even though I should be used to shit like this by now.”

“I don’t think anyone from Iwatodai dorm is going to fare any better,” Ryoji says, stopping Makoto with a hand motion. “Quiet down a bit. Shadow.”

He leans over the corner to take a peek.

The damn thing he wishes never to see again comes crawling along the train track, angry blue mask on its face, its formless sludge of a body being dragged along by numerous, equally formless limbs. They wait for what feel like forever for it to pass.

When it did, Makoto releases the breath he hasn’t realized he’d been holding.

“You good?” Ryoji asks, turning to him slightly.

“Yeah,” He sniffs. Damnit, he’s being a fucking burden, he knows that — if Ryoji had been alone, he doubts a mere formless Shadow would have been a problem. Hell, this investigation is going so slowly because he is stuck protecting Makoto, and he hates that. He absolutely _despises_ that—

“Makoto,” Ryoji says, voice firm.

Makoto looks up, frowning. “What?”

“I’m your shadow, and you’re my light,” He says, a hand on his shoulder. He must’ve sensed that Makoto is blaming himself, isn’t he? Perceptive bastard.

“What’s that supposed to be, a pick-up line?” He says with a snort.

Ryoji simply laughs. “I wish. But in all seriousness, I mean it. I’m Death. Darkness. _Your_ darkness, your shadow. And you are my other self, my light. You keep us balance. don’t forget that.”

Life and death. Light and Dark. Balance, huh…?

“Fine,” He says, scratching his cheek. “When you put it that way, I can’t find it in me to refuse.”

Ryoji grins, before he leads them deeper.

.

He’s beginning to notice a certain pattern here.

Every step, and he means _every_ step, he takes, the nauseating feeling in his stomach and the scratching in his head get progressively worse.

It’s only thanks to his passive face that Ryoji hasn’t noticed this yet.

The further they go, the more oppressive the air feels, and the more Shadows await them. Ryoji gets tenser, and Makoto more agitated, as they venture deeper.

A part of him is screaming at him to go back, to leave, before something _bad_ happens. He fights the urge to turn tail and run, because they need to do this. They need to find out what in the hell happened that cause the reappearance of the Dark Hour (well, they actually know _what_ causes it, but not _how_ ) and put a stop to that as soon as possible.

He feels hot, like he’s burning inside. Beads of sweat roll down his face as he keeps close to Ryoji, his breathing a bit forced, his mind running a mile a minute. The tingling feeling in his arms and legs get ramped up by a lot, and right now he’s feeling like his limbs are submerged in iced water.

And then Ryoji stops. “Makoto. Look.”

He wishes he hasn’t.

There’s an altar of sort – Shadows gather around it; heads bow down in reverence. The _thing_ sitting atop it could only be described as a beating heart. But the heart has abnormal growths on it, twisting flesh and charred muscles. Instead of blood vessels, the thing sports tube-like structures, black in color with blue blood-like liquid flowing from within.

The pulsating heart suddenly becomes the centre of his attention. Everything around him is just… _gone_. He’s alone, standing in the endless dark, with the heart right before him. He tries to tear his eyes away, but he couldn’t.

Screeches fill his head, and he falls to the ground, hands pulling at his hair, trying to stop the noises.

_I’ll kill you I’ll kill you I’ll kill you I’ll kill you I’LL KILL YOU –_

“Makoto!”

His breath hitches as he looks up, the dark landscape gone. Ryoji’s standing before him, arms outstretch. He’s _shielding_ him, Makoto’s mind supplies.

He pants, sweats forming and dropping from his forehead. His eyes try to focus, but all they see are Ryoji’s back as he fends off one Shadow after another.

Ryoji is saying something, but his ears can’t pick it up. All he could hear is the repetition of the words _I’ll kill you_ by some unknown being at the recess of his head. He wills his mind to forget that and focus – Ryoji’s in danger, and he can’t just stay there and do _nothing_ –

He won’t lose anyone else. Not again.

_It seems you have made up your mind, little one._

Mind-shattering headache. He curls into himself, hands gripping his head tight as if it would reduce the pain. He’s silently screaming. Voices from above him, but he can’t make it out.

Footsteps. He hears Ryoji call out his name. Worry. Fear.

_He swore an oath to be your shadow. What will you do?_

He gasps, one hand finding the concrete beneath him and he _tears_ at it. Blood blooming at his fingertips.

He doesn’t care.

_Will you let him fight alone?_

No.

He won’t.

He won’t let Ryoji down anymore. He had helped Makoto more times than he could count, and he hadn’t been able to repay it once. He won’t let it stay that way forever. He _can’t._

_Then let us form a pact._

He pulls himself up a little to see a light blue feather in his grasp. There’s a tint of black in the stem, but the bluish glow covers the blemish perfectly.

 _The Plume of Dusk,_ Makoto’s mind seems to say. The core of an Evoker.

 _But it’s supposed to be pure in colour with no blemish._ A tiny voice in his head cautions.

He doesn’t care.

And then, the blue light glows brighter. Lines of silver write themselves in his palm, shifting, changing, drawing themselves into a familiar shape.

There’s an uncharacteristic grin on his face, Makoto could feel it. He does what his instinct is screaming at him to do, and put the thing in his hand to his temple. There’s a trigger beneath his finger, and then there’s the weight he’s had in his hands so many times before in his palm.

_I am Thou, Thou art I._

The oath resonates in his mind. He stands up, unsure on his feet.

He doesn’t care.

_Set thy soul alight, and let it burn, bright as the Sun._

_Call mine name, and purify this Darkness before thee!_

The word forms in his mouth. The strange word he has never heard before.

He doesn’t care.

He wants this power.

He _needs_ it.

“Come, _Ifrit!_ ”

He pulls the trigger.

* * *

Sound of shattering glasses overpowers the moans of the Shadows.

Ryoji turns back to see Makoto standing there, eyes bright blue, a grin of insanity on his face. A silver gun he had put to his temple releases a trail of smoke as blue flame rises from around him, the shattered glass shards rising and forming into a being above.

Red humanoid monster rises from the flame, its body made from dark crimson steel strips, its clawed hands and legs covered in flame. Scarf-like structure covers its mandible, split in half like an insect. The inside of its maws had been replaced by tongue of orange blaze. The horns curved upward, eyes hollow, flickers of red shining from within.

Its chest is left open, a miniature sun in place of a heart.

Flickers of orange flame is tainted with black.

Ryoji heard its name when Makoto said it. A name of a Persona he had never heard of before. But he could feel it, that this Persona is of the Fool Arcana.

And then, he hears its voice.

_I am Ifrit, Spirit of the Flame._

Ifrit lets out an ear-splitting roar. Its flame brightens, and engulfs everything in sight.

When the light dies down, Ryoji blinks away the flashes in his eyes, only to see nothing but charred ground and blackened walls. Only he and Makoto remain unaffected by the light.

He looks up to see Ifrit, its eyes conveying something unbeknownst to him, then it dissipates into blue smokes, the departure of its flame re-inviting the oppressing darkness back around them. Ryoji’ eyes travel back down to see Makoto swaying on his feet. The boy takes a few steps forward and falls into him.

“Makoto,” He says, stabilizing Makoto. “What was that? Are you okay?”

“I…” He begins, eyes glazed over. The shorter boy blinks slowly, free hand gripping Ryoji’s shirt as his legs seem to lose their strengths. “You were… I have to… help…”

“And you did,” He reassures, keeping Makoto up the best he could. He can still hear the distant groans of the Shadows deeper in the cavern. “You saved me, Makoto. Now let’s go before more show up.”

“Okay,” The boy whispers against his chest.

Ryoji looks down at his hand, still clutching the suspicious Evoker that appeared out of thin air. He looks at Makoto, who’s already half-unconscious, and at the Evoker again. A feeling of dread crawls down his spine.

He turns around. The altar and the heart are gone, too.

He doesn’t like this one bit.

* * *

He dreams. Of the Velvet Room. Of Ifrit, red eyes boring into his soul.

A lick of darkness from underneath.

The Velvet Room seems… strange. Contorted. Distant. Darkened.

There’s a whisper, of a malevolent voice. He turns around, but nothing is there.

_“To think it’d be able to do this much. I’ve miscalculated.”_

Another voice. Someone’s, probably Igor’s. He’s trying to reach Makoto. But something’s blocking him.

 _“This Journey has become dangerous. You mustn’t —_ ”

Something snaps.

He wakes with a start.

“Makoto!” Ryoji calls his name. A hand on his forehead, another on his shoulder. He slowly blinks, trying to adjust to the room. His head spins, skin ice-cold. His throat is burning.

His eyes find Ryoji’s. Relief floods sapphire eyes as Ryoji smiles. Makoto sits up, his muscles groaning in protest. There’s fire in his chest. He ignores it.

Firm hands keep him from tilting forward, fingers squeezing his arms reassuringly. He blinks again, then swallows the lump in his throat. His thoughts are disjointed. Memories are pieces and scraps on the floor. He only remembers the name.

 _Ifrit_.

“What—” He says, but as soon as the word leaves his mouth he begins to cough.

“Calm down, Makoto,” Ryoji says, hands cupping his cheeks. His breaths are ragged and quickened. He slows them down. Ryoji nods. “Good. Good. Breathe in, count to four. Breathe out, count to four.”

One. Two. Three. Four.

“Makoto,” He says his name again, a bit louder. “Try not to think too much. A lot had happened. Your psyche is still weak, so rest for a bit, okay?”

He remembers the gun. Pulling the trigger. Sounds of shattering glasses.

The pulsating Heart. The repeated words in the back of his head.

He gasps.

His hands on his face, eyes blurred. He tries to breathe. Ryoji’s hands grab his shoulders and forces him to look. Anxious. Afraid.

His hands on his chest. Clawing. Tearing. Warmness under his fingertips

The grips tighten.

Makoto blinks again.

Ryoji looks like he’s about to cry. “Please. Just rest. We’re safe, Makoto. We’re safe.”

He finds himself nodding.

* * *

“Welcome back.”

It’s the first thing Igor says when he wakes up to the elevator. Elizabeth looks… worried? Igor’s face is grim, his usual smile stretching less than normal.

He frowns, but says nothing as Igor shows him the Arcana of the Fool and the Universe.

“You’ve awoken to a power that comes from the Fool _and_ the Universe.” He says. “Belonging to Two Arcanas — of the Universe in particular, signifies that this power comes from both without and within. The light, the spirit of flame, Ifrit.”

He nods, remembering the name. His memories from his summoning is hazy, at best. Thinking on it for too long makes his head spin. But he frowns at the phrase that its power comes from without and within. What does that mean…?

“Your bonds, old and new, give power to your Personas,” Igor continues, showing all twenty-two Arcana cards before him. The Universe — number XXI — sits in the middle. “You, who have been blessed and cursed with a second life, have already been gifted with unbreakable bonds that transcend time and space itself. This time, those bonds will help you discover the true power you hold _within_.”

That’s… going to be the best explanation he’s going to get.

He’s then assaulted by another wave of pain. He grits his teeth and tries to will it away. But the longer he tries to _think_ , the worse the pain gets, sharp cuts inside his skull and inhuman hisses in his ears.

“Be careful, Makoto-san,” Igor says after a pause. He looks up, confused.

“What do you… mean?” He asks, his voice broken.

“Someone’s interfered with us. I cannot say more,” Igor quickly informs. “You mustn’t —”

Before Igor could finish his sentence, a roar of something not of this world pierce his ears, causing him to double over. The elevator shakes, as if hit by an earthquake.

Something snaps.

.

He gasps awake.

“…Makoto?”

Ryoji’s voice sounds so reluctant. Makoto isn’t sure why. He just groans and grabs his head, rolling to his side to try to stop the spinning. Of course, no luck. “Fuck, the room’s spinning.”

There’s a pregnant pause, Ryoji’s face is as if he’s afraid of disturbing him. “Um… you okay…?”

“Yeah,” He nods, keeping his voice low. The worried look on Ryoji unsettles him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You… don’t remember?” He asks, his voice strained.

Makoto shakes his head.

“You were—” Ryoji gulps, trying to form words. He slumps back into the chair. Only then did Makoto sees him in full. He’s covered in nail marks all over his arms, there’s spots of red on his crumpled white shirt that seemingly is not his own blood. His scarf is nowhere to be seen.

Makoto doesn’t dare looking anywhere else.

“You were screaming and thrashing so much,” He breathes, his voice shaken. “You screamed about something in your head. About wanting to help me. About the gun, and... Makoto… you were in so much pain I-I…”

He looks down at his body and sees just how much damage he did to himself.

His nails were definitely ripped off, fingertips covered with dried blood. His chest is clawed until his skin is bleeding. There’s blood on the front of his shirt, the sheet, on the corner of his mouth. The floor. It’s everywhere.

“I don’t…” He manages to say, a hand on his head. “I… Ryoji, what day is this?”

He remembers venturing into the Metaverse on March 10th. And then he just slips in and out of sleep. He reckons this must be the effect of awakening to a Persona for the first time in seven years, but… why is it this bad? He can’t remember a damn thing, and the scratching in his head is just _not gone_.

“Makoto,” Ryoji says, obviously pained and worried and terrified. “It’s March 17th. You were… in that state, for a week.”

“I…” He just can’t find the words. His brows furrow further, his voice hoarse. His memories of everything’s scraps on the floor. “I’m… I don’t…”

“It’s… it’s okay,” Ryoji gulps, placing a hand on his and squeezes lightly. “We’re okay now. You just need more rest.”

“…Okay,” He decides against declining that offer. Ryoji looks tired. He’s caused him so much worry, and he could do nothing to ease his burden.

He hates it.

Makoto hates this. He hates his weakness.

He wants to cry. 

* * *

“You said the last time you’ve been here was a month ago, right?”

Yu asks. Joker, as he now calls himself, nods. His expression is three parts terrified and four parts in awe, so Yu thinks he was telling the truth when he said they’ve not been back to this place since a month ago

Which means whatever he’s seeing is not their doings.

“Yeah,” Joker says with a stern face.

The stenches almost make him throw up. He feels sick. The fleshy growths do little to help. The nauseating sight and smell, however, are overshadowed by the place they were standing.

The walls, the ceiling, the floor — burned to a crisp, caked in black. Charred corpses littered the endless cavern. A single black feather sits atop a white mask, possibly detached from a Shadow. There are no other signs to tell them what had transpired here, but he sure as hell _will_ find out.

One more thing that he sees is that the Shadows seem more… agitated, than he usually sees them in the TV world. He confirms this with Joker, and the other says they are not usually like this.

Shadow-related illness, strange manifestations of the Mementos…

This is going to be more than just a couple of murders, isn’t it?

“We have to visit the Velvet Room,” Joker whispers to him and him alone. He nods, brows furrowed together. “ _How_ would be a problem, but it’s better than sitting here wondering what the fuck happened in this place.”

“True,” He echoes.

The Velvet Room.

They _must_ get to Igor and their attendants, because only there will they get an answer they need.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? How was it? The shot's fired, people!
> 
> Tell me how it is for ya, and see you next chapter!


	7. Calm and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s not going to wipe the image of the man’s body being flung ten meters into the air before hitting the asphalt, or Makoto’s horrified screams, out of his head anytime soon. And before he actually reaches the earth, Ren has the unfortunate luck of getting a brief look at the man’s expression. No pain, fear, nothing… his face is just blank, devoid of emotions.
> 
> And then a pang of pain, follows by a voice of his other self.
> 
> Shadows did this.
> 
> What in the world…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back, with a bit of a slice of life, I guess? Well, not really, it's still slightly, just slightly dark at the end
> 
> Anyways, let me not keep you. Some announcement at the end, though, so make sure not to miss it!
> 
> And please, enjoy!

**_Chapter Seven: Calm and Chaos_**

**_March 19 th, 11.50 pm_ **

Deafening silence fills the air between them.

Ryoji doesn’t say anything and Makoto doesn’t know _what_ to say.

He just… he wants to talk normally again. But the guilt that weighs heavily in his chest and the uneasiness still linger. His throat feels dry.

He can’t say anything. Not after all that has happened.

He just sits in his corner of the room, the Evoker in his hand. The steel is cold, the object heavy. His gray eyes just stare at it, his fingers tracing its outlines. He ignores the throbbing in his head, or the water running in the shower, or the cars outside. He shuts off everything and just focuses his attention on the damn gun.

A part of him wants to just throw the thing into the river and be done with it. But another part knows better. He needs this thing if they’re going to get anywhere with their investigations. His grip on the gun tightens, and he tries to slam it to the ground. In the end, he just lets out a frustrated groan and presses his forehead against the cold steel.

He drops the gun onto the bed and curls into himself, arms hugging his legs to his chest as he rests his head on his knees. He wants to cry, to scream, to do _something_ other than being like… this.

He doesn’t move when the bathroom door opens. Ryoji pads closer to his bed, takes the gun off it and puts it on the table. He watches as the taller boy goes over to his own bed and sits down, towel ruffling at his hair.

To his surprise, Ryoji speaks up, a small smile on his lips. “I’m sorry, Makoto.”

His breath hitches slightly, but he doesn’t say a thing.

With a sigh, Ryoji gets up and sits at the foot of his bed. He looks up, pales eyes locking with sad sapphire before the other looks down at the ground. “I’m sorry for giving you the cold shoulder… I just… can’t really deal with it, you know?”

“Deal with… what?” He inquires.

“Death,” Ryoji says with a sardonic laughter. “I was Death’s Appriser. But somehow, right here and now, beside you… the aspect of death — _your_ death — terrifies me.”

“Ryoji…”

“It’s a stupid joke,” Ryoji continues, still not looking at him. “I was an existence beyond life and death before I met you all those years ago, on the Moonlight Bridge. Then, I gained a bit of humanity. And the time with you, after you died — I think I have become something more, but also something less.”

Makoto frowns slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I’m more human,” He says with a mirthless chuckle. “And less an Appriser. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be.”

“Ryoji, I don’t fucking care _what_ you are,” Makoto snaps slightly, uncurling himself and ruffles Ryoji’s hair hard with the towel. The other protests weakly. He lets the towel slides to the floor as he grabs both of the taller boy’s shoulders and looks him in the eye. “You are Mochizuki Ryoji. That’s all I give a damn about.”

“Still,” He says, avoiding Makoto’s gaze. “I’m afraid. This is the first time I’m afraid of death — someone else’s death. And I’m not sure how I should feel about it.”

“Then feel human,” He responds. “You are my shadow, true. But you’re also human, right? Right here, in this very moment… you’re you. A human. And fear of death is normal.”

That draws out a weak laugh from the other boy. Makoto smiles thinly as Ryoji looks straight at him. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m afraid, but…”

“That won’t stop us,” He finishes. “Now cheer up, you goddamn mochi, before I beat some sense into you.”

“Why are you calling me a _mochi_ ,” Ryoji protests, but he laughs a genuine one. The deafening silence is gone, replaced by a lighter atmosphere. “I… was a bit lost. Sorry.”

“You helped me tons of times before,” He says. “Just repaying the favor.”

“Alright,” Ryoji says. After a while, he smiles slightly. “Hey, Makoto?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks.”

He smiles back. “You’re welcome.”

* * *

“I’m glad I can summon _two_ of you this time.”

Ren turns to the familiar voice, and much to his relief, he sees Igor. But something in that sentence makes little sense to him – two of them? Who –

“Your Velvet Room looks like a prison.”

He turns to see Narukami, who looks as confused as he is, standing just right outside his cell door. He looks down and let out a small laugh, thanking whatever gods there is that give him casual clothing instead of prisoner strips.

“It _is_ a prison,” He says, standing up from his bed.

Beside Igor is Lavenza, his own attendant. The other is a taller female, blonde and slightly curled hair, a sharp look in her gaze. He shivers slightly. That must me Narukami’s attendant. He bows slightly at her, and she gives him a gentle smile.

It is fortunate that Igor summoned them, Ren thinks. At least they don’t have to find a way on their own, since their accesses to the Velvet Room are restricted after their Journeys were finished.

“It is regrettable I cannot summon _her_ … she’s a bit preoccupied, at the moment,” Igor says with an uncharacteristic sigh, his eyes shifting between the two of them for a moment. “Something had invaded the Velvet Room and is making it quite impossible for me to say most things that would give you too much of a hint to what is going on. For that, I apologize.”

“It’s alright,” Narukami says, rubbing the back of his neck. “But what did you mean by something had invaded the Velvet Room?”

“An Entity,” He says. And by the looks of things, that seems to be the only thing he could tell them. Ren frowns; he doesn’t like the outlook of this one bit.

“What hints can you give us, then?” He asks.

“Find the key,” Lavenza says. She snaps her fingers, and forming into her hand, an Arcana of the Fool. “The key to everything. You must learn of the Dark Hour, and from there, you’ll know what to do.”

“What _is_ the Dark Hour?” He inquires.

“I’m afraid I cannot say more,” Igor says. “But you will know of it when you experience it. The Dark Hour is inevitable.”

“That… doesn’t really help?” Narukami says reluctantly. “If you can’t tell us much, it means this Entity is strong… is it a god?”

There’s no answer.

“Well, shit,” Narukami mutters.

His thoughts exactly.

“The Velvet Keys are now in your possessions; the entrance to the Velvet Room in Tokyo. I trust you to bring Yu-san to it, Ren-san?” The tall woman addresses him, the tome close to her chest.

“Yes,” He nods firmly.

“Then, until we meet again.”

.

The one thing he always hate is whenever he wakes up from the Velvet Room, he sees blue for a _solid fucking minute_.

Great.

His phone rings and Ren groans, hands fumbling around to find the device. When he manages to grab it, he squints his eyes and looks at the screen.

It’s from Narukami.

_March 24 th_

_You can take me to the Velvet Room later._

_Gotta discuss all these with my team first._

Ren blinks away his drowsiness and sits up. He stretches and yawns before typing a response of his own with one hand.

**_Sure._ **

****

**_I’ve been meaning to ask, but…_ **

****

**_Do you know anything about this Dark Hour business?_ **

_No idea._

_I’ll message you when to meet up later._

_Let us gather our own information for now._

_No point holding a meeting without information._

**_Alright. Good luck._ **

****

**_Oh! And one more thing._ **

_What is it?_

**_Igor said something about another person, right?_ **

****

**_Do you think he means another Wild Card? Like, maybe… this Artemisia?_ **

****

_Possibility is high, I wouldn’t rule that out._

_I’ll be going now. Good luck._

He puts the phone down and slips around Morgana as he gets out of bed. The morning is quiet, so at first, he thought maybe he should let them rest for another day. But the he remembers the foul stench and fouler Shadows they encountered down in the Mementos.

He’s torn between moving as fast as they could and pacing themselves. Moving too fast and you’ll burn out, moving too slow and you’ll be too late.

He sighs and messages Makoto instead.

It takes four seconds for her to call him, and he picks up right away.

“Hey,” He greets her as he pads his way towards the bathroom.

“ _You have a lot on your mind, haven’t you?_ ” She says. Ren just knows he can never hide a thing from her. He hums in confirmation, and Makoto sighs. “ _What we saw in the Mementos is unsettling. But let the team rest for a few more days might be a good idea.”_

“Yeah,” He says. “You wanna hang out today? I want to just relax for a bit.”

“ _Sure,_ ” She replies almost instantly. “ _How’s the preparation for your senior year going?”_

“It sucks,” He says with a chuckle. He starts brushing his teeth and plucks out some of Morgana’s fur from his hair. “But hey, it’s done now. My things are ready in the attic, and my girlfriend is not so far off. I’ll survive.”

He hears Makoto hums. “ _That so? That’s good then. I’ll meet you at Leblanc?_ ”

“Sure,” He mutters. “See you in a few, Makoto.”

“ _Alright. See ya._ ”

He finishes his business after the call and gets change into a more comfortable outfit. He left his glasses on the table — he’s not going to need those before the semester starts, anyway. He then approaches Morgana, who’s still sleeping, and wakes him up.

“What,” He drawls, hindfoot scratching his ear. “Leave me alone.”

“Just saying I’m hanging out with Makoto for a bit. Food’s on the table.”

“Okay.”

Ren just sighs at how quickly Morgana can just go back to sleep and heads downstairs.

He needs a fucking break.

* * *

“The Dark Hour, huh?”

He tells Makoto everything, and his Priestess nods, gathering the information in her head. He munches on his burger as he leans against the back rest. “Don’t know what it is either. Igor only says I’ll understand it when I experience it, and it’s inevitable.”

“We’ll have to be a bit more vigilant,” She says. “Right now, we can’t even form a hypothesis.”

“True,” He groans. “Ugh, what the hell did we get roped into this time?”

“Another gigantic actualization, probably,” She says, sipping her capuchino. “Might be a good idea to talk to doctor Maruki again, you know?”

“I don’t think this is an actualization,” He frowns. “Don’t ask me how. It just… isn’t. It feels different.”

“Huh,” She lets out a sound, hand tilting the cup back and forth. “Then we start by looking for this… Dark Hour thing? Or rather, experiencing it?”

“Probably,” He says, resting his head on her shoulder. She giggles and cards her fingers through his messy mob of black. He closes his eyes and relaxes. “I can’t think of anything.”

“Then let’s think together when everyone’s calmed down a bit, shall we?” She offers.

“Mhm,” He hums, exhaling.

They spend time like that for a while, Ren half-asleep on her shoulder as she pats his hair. It’s been quite some time since all the shit show start, so he’s in need of some brakes. The others, too.

Then a familiar voice jolts him out of his musings. “Surprise seeing you here, Amamiya!”

He opens his eyes and look up to see striking sapphire staring right back.

Three seconds later he finds himself on the ground.

“What the _fuck!?_ ”

“Oops. Sorry?” Mochizuki offers, scratching the back of his head. Yuuki bows at him and exchanges a quick greeting with Makoto who looks at them in half-surprise. The taller boy walks over and helps him up. “Sorry again. You were sleeping so peacefully and all, that’s my bad.”

“It’s no problem,” He says, raising a hand.

Yuuki elbows Mochizuki hard. “Don’t enable him, Amamiya.”

He laughs. “It’s okay. But that scared the shit outta me.”

Mochizuki gives him a not so apologetic grin while Yuuki bows at him and Makoto again. His girlfriend gets up from her seat. “It’s a surprise seeing you two here. What gives?”

“Just loitering around,” Yuuki says with a small shrug, hands in his pockets, an earphone in his left ear while its pair rests in Mochizuki’s. “We got nothing better to do until school starts anyways. Except for finding part time jobs.”

“But we aren’t keen on starting one yet, so,” Mochizuki laughs and returns the earbud to Yuuki. “Here we are, I guess. You two dating?”

He splutters and Makoto quickly looks away, red to the ears.

 _You don’t need to point that out,_ Ren thinks.

“Sorry,” Yuuki quickly says, reaching up to grab Mochizuki by the head and forcing him to bow down. “This guy is a bit hyper today.”

“I can see that,” Ren coughs. After a short pause, he adds. “Wanna join?”

“Sure.”

.

They settle down at a restaurant not far from Shibuya station. Makoto is talking with Yuuki, who quietly nods and answers only when prompted, which is a stark contrast to Mochizuki’s spontaneity. Seriously, Ren doesn’t even want to begin to imagine how these two become friends.

Yuuki seems normal and healthy to him, save for some occasional winces whenever Mochizuki speaks a bit too loudly. He remembers Yoshizawa telling him about the boy being voice-sensitive, so he guesses there’s that. Mochizuki still wears his yellow scarf even though the weather’s not that cold, and his one-sided conversation with Yuuki makes Ren notes, in the back of his head, that the reason these two are so close must be _because_ of their differences.

Huh.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Mochizuki begins, looking between him and Makoto. “How long have you two been datin—Ow!”

Yuuki promptly pushes his head to the side hard while Makoto blushes furiously. Ren also feels his face turning a bit hot. Yuuki then mutters, “Sorry. Where the fuck did _that_ come from!?”

“I’m just curious!” Mochizuki laughs.

“Half a year,” Makoto answers, still red. “Some… stuffs happened. He saved me. And then it’s kinda just… spiral from there?”

He smiles at the memory. He also winces, remembering Makoto’s _wake up slap_.

His hand unconsciously caresses his cheek.

“I’m jealous,” Mochizuki says, resting his cheek in his hand as he drinks from a cup. “Make me wish I have a girl to fall in love with too.”

Yuuki rolls his eyes. “You’re stuck with me _forever_ , Ryoji, so suck it up.”

“Meanie.”

Makoto laughs, and he turns to look at her, tiling his head in surprise. The other two exchange a confused look, then turn to him for an explanation. He just shakes his head, but luckily, Makoto decides to speak up. “Sorry, it’s just… you two seem so close and open around each other.”

“We do?” Mochizuki says. He then grins. “We do!”

“Ryoji, please stop being hyper for a minute? Good _god_ ,” Yuuki sighs exasperatedly, but there’s no real annoyance to it. Well, maybe a little, but not much. Yuuki then sips the tea, and —

“What happened to your hands?” Ren asks, incredulous. His nails look like they’ve been _ripped_ off.

The boy winces. “During one of my spar sessions. Long story.”

“What spar sessions?” He narrows his eyes.

“MMA,” He replies without missing a beat. “I kinda space out during a bout.”

“You do MMAs?” Makoto asks, face lights up instantly. A tiny voice in his head says _oh no_.

“Yeah, both of us just recently started, though,” Mochizuki says, smiling. “I didn’t take you for a martial artist. Do you have any tips or tricks for us, Niijima-san?”

“Oh yes, definitely!”

And then Ren is left out of the conversation.

He knows his girlfriend is a bit of a, huh… fight maniac, but to think she could endlessly talk about how to _punch people’s faces in_ is borderline ridiculous. He just sits there and listens while Makoto and Mochizuki talk animatedly. He then catches Yuuki’s eyes, and a conversation passes between them.

_Congratulations, you’re now also left out because Ryoji is a spontaneous talker._

_Congrats to you too._

They laugh.

.

The meal went by in a blur, and by the time they finished the sun had already set.

“It’s already this late?” Makoto says, looking at her phone. “Oh my god, sis is going to kill me.”

“She won’t,” Ren says, squeezing her shoulder slightly. He turns to look at the two boys who are talking about something in hushed whispers. He just shrugs.

“Hey, Amamiya,” Mochizuki calls, snatching an earbud from Yuuki. The shorter boy doesn’t seem to mind. “You too, Niijima-san. It’s nice having a meal with you two. See you again soon!”

“See ya,” He says, waving slightly as the two boys share their playlist and walk off into a different direction.

His eyes follow the two for a moment longer before he turns back to Makoto, who’s smiling slightly.

“What?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing, it’s just,” She begins, red eyes following his two new friends until they are out of sight. “They seem pretty similar to us, aren’t they? Very close and… maybe a bit disjointed?”

He snorts a laughter at the last part. “Definitely.”

“You take care of them too, since they’re going to be your schoolmates in a few weeks,” She says.

Ren nods and kisses her forehead, making her yelp out in embarrassment. He then grins down at the tomato-red Makoto. “You bet I will.”

She clicks his tongue, but soon smiles and lets him takes her hand.

They intend to go for a bit of a stroll (since Sae-san is going to be pissed no matter what anyways) and maybe dropping by at Leblanc for a warm cup of coffee before he accompanies Makoto home.

That _was_ the plan, anyway.

They were about to cross the intersection when someone whose expression looks _empty_ , like he has no thoughts or wills behind his action, _walks into the traffic_.

He’s not going to wipe the image of the man’s body being flung ten meters into the air before hitting the asphalt, or Makoto’s horrified screams, out of his head anytime soon. And before he actually reaches the earth, Ren has the unfortunate luck of getting a brief look at the man’s expression. No pain, fear, nothing… his face is just _blank_ , devoid of emotions.

And then a pang of pain, follows by a voice of his other self.

 _Shadows did this_.

What in the world…?

* * *

He sits at the stool in complete silence, Makoto shaken by his side.

The first one through the door is Akechi, his bangs sticking to his face and clothes soaking wet. He pants for a few seconds before walking over, eyes hard. “What the hell happened?”

“Raoul told me,” He begins, gripping his head and looking down at the coffee cup. “A man threw himself in front of the car. Shadows did it, he said.”

Akechi’s eyes narrow at that. He takes in his and Makoto’s state, opens his mouth, but decides to silently sits next to him. He looks at his trembling hand for a few seconds before saying a bit gentler, “Shadows make a man kill himself? Like the Psychotic Breakdown?”

“Most likely. I dunno, He—” Ren gulps. “He just blankly walked into the car and got catapulted into the air. Didn’t get a good look.”

“Alright,” Akechi says slowly. “We can still work with that. Have you called the others?”

He nods.

Akechi watches him for a moment longer before he goes upstairs, saying nothing else.

“Ren,” Makoto murmurs, almost too quiet for him to hear.

He doesn’t reply with words; he just looks — at her still terrified eyes, and her pale face.

“Just what… is going on?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm.... caught by plot bunnies, and I will be starting a 3 part series, P3 style... again, I truly apologize, but the plot seems too interesting for me
> 
> But fear not! Right as of this moment I posted this, I'm 12 chapter ahead in this story, so you'll at least have 3 months worth of content before... it slows down, if it does. I can write really fast if I'm inspired, so I'll be sure to spit out as much content as I could before that 3 part series eat me alive lol
> 
> Anyways, see you later, folks!


	8. Connect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suddenly, the world stops.
> 
> The sky turns green, the moon nowhere to be found. She turns to the clock, locked at exactly midnight. The AC, the lights, all stay still. She then looks at Aigis, her eyes wide.
> 
> “March 27th,” She reads the calendar, then her eyes go to the wall-mounted clock. “Exactly midnight.”
> 
> The green. The total halt of all devices. The eerie silence.
> 
> The Dark Hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and I'm back! A little early, but there is a reason for it!
> 
> Announcement at the end notes, so please check that out!

**_Chapter Eight: Connect_** ****

He wakes up into the dark, lying on cold floor covered in blood.

Makoto sits up, feeling the freezing air around him. He isn’t even sure what’s happening, so he just stands and looks around.

The… it’s not even a _room_ , it’s just an endless, unrelenting dark spreading across the horizon. He could hear blood humming in his head, his heart beating against his ribs. His breath is cold and he feels his lung freezing from inhaling the frigid air.

 _You’re mine_.

A voice says, from above, from below, from everywhere and nowhere. Makoto turns around, trying to find the source, but he sees nothing.

And then, pain.

Pain in its purest form, everywhere and nowhere, all at once. He couldn’t even scream. All he can manages is falling down to his knees, his breaths quickening and his hands fly up to his chest, gripping and tearing at it.

 _I’ll kill you. For certain, this time_.

He looks up and sees that same pulsating heart, glowing with blood-red light and beating into his head — _thud. Thud. Thud._ The sound gets louder, and before long it’s beating _inside_ his skull.

_You are mine, Yuuki Makoto!_

He gasps awake.

“Oh! You’re up,” Ryoji says, munching on a snack with one hand while the other scrolls through the phone. Makoto’s heart is still beating loud in his chest and his ears are ringing. The moon’s still bright in the sky, so he guesses he crashed right after returning from dinner. He blinks a few times, still unsure on what he had just seen and heard.

His lack of response causes the other to look at him again, fingers stop moving.

“Makoto?”

“I’m fine,” He says, touching his head reluctantly, his eyes looking at nowhere in particular. “Just… nightmare.”

“Oh,” Is all the other boy says before he finishes his dessert and puts his phone away. “You can go shower. I already took mine.”

“‘Kay,” He nods dumbly, sitting up straight.

What the flying _fuck_ did he just dream about?

.

Once his head’s clear, he comes out of the shower to Ryoji waiting for him by the laptop (at least that one was bought) with an earbud in his left. Makoto walks over and sits on the chair next to him, putting the earbud in his right.

“What’re we doing?” He questions, hand blindly grabbing the first thing in front of him. A bag of roasted almonds. He shrugs and pops the bag open and starts munching.

Ryoji just shrugs and starts playing YouTube videos that Niijima had mentioned. It’s a playlist of MMA fights. Makoto groans while Ryoji laughs at him. “Come on, Makoto. It’s not that bad!”

“I know that,” He then sighs, eyeing the Evoker he… how did it come to him? All he remembers is the thing forming in his hand out of thin air. “We should try entering the Metaverse again. Just to get used to doing things.”

Ryoji face falls slightly, but he nods. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Tomorrow, though. And we’re using these as references for future fights, of course.”

“Yeah,” He nods. “Right, let’s get started.”

He watches with marked disinterest at the MMA footages, making small notes at the back of his mind about this and that that he finds might help in a fight. He absently eyes his Evoker again, a nagging feeling of dread crawling up his spine and settling neatly in his stomach.

Then he catches Ryoji looking at him. “…What?”

“I’m as suspicious about the Evoker as you are, you know.”

He winces a little and looks away. Well, they _did_ have a theory that Amamiya and his group acquired their own ways of calling out their other selves within the Metaverse, but what makes it doubtful is the fact that it took the form of _his_ Evoker…

…And that it took away some of his memories.

He doesn’t remember the second half of their exploration, only maybe bits and pieces. Every time he tries to think about it, his head would get heavy and his recollection hazy, at best. And everything Ryoji told him is just… _new_ , a bit out of places. The only thing that actually makes senses coming out of the other boy’s mouth is the name of his Persona, _Ifrit_.

Makoto groans and slams his head back into the table, his hand absently slaps at the pause button. He ignores Ryoji’s whines and sighs loudly. “And here I thought all these _shits_ couldn’t get worse.”

“I don’t think anything could get worse than being _dead,_ though,” Ryoji says with a snicker. Then, his grin falters. “But yes, I think we might’ve just bitten off _a bit_ more than we could chew.”

“Well, time to pull another _miracle_ out of my ass, or something,” He mumbles off-handedly.

“Makoto, that is _not_ funny.”

“It kinda is, though,” He counters, scratching his head slightly.

Ryoji looks like he wants to protest, gaping like a fish a few times. In the end, he throws up both of his hands “Fine! It’s just a _teensy_ bit funny. Now shush and let’s actually finish watching this, then we’ll discuss about the Evoker later.”

“Ryoji, I think your priorities are getting kind of mixed up.”

They share a few laughs and bicker for a while before settling themselves down.

Makoto shoves the feeling of dread away into the furthest corner of his mind. He’ll take care of that later; for now, he has other things he still needs to think about.

* * *

Heavy silence hangs over them.

Ren and Makoto are still quiet and pale, the face of that stranger, staring blankly into nothing as he walked into traffic and was sent flying into the air, is seared into his head, and Ren hates that. He shakes his head and cradles it in his hand as he sighs heavily.

Recounting the events to everyone is hard, but he had to. When he’s done, there’s nothing but sounds of cloth rustling and occasional coughs that fill the air. He scratches his head before sitting up straight, trying to not sound terrible (which he thinks he still does) as he speaks. “Raoul said this is the work of Shadows. That means Yuuki isn’t the last… and this is just the beginning of something terrible.”

“You said he looked blank and shuffling like he had no goal, right?” Akechi speaks, brows knotted together, a finger on his chin. Ren nods. “Sakura, I do believe there were similar cases happening around eight years ago. Can you find out about that?

“No problem,” She says, tapping away on her notebook.

Ryuji places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes firmly, saying nothing. Ren nods at him, appreciating the thought. The blonde then frowns. “Wait, eight years ago? Is this like the thing at Tatsumi Port Island?”

Akechi blinks. “Yes, that’s exactly the name of the place! How did you know?”

“My relatives live there. Said something like people being real zombie-like and caring about not a damn thing, even their own lives, for a few years. Resolved on its own, too.” Ryuji supplies, and that forces Ren to look up.

Akechi nods, but says nothing.

“Wait a second,” Futaba looks up from her notebook. “Tatsumi Port Island?”

“Yeah. What?” Ryuji asks.

“Apathy Syndrome,” She says, turning the laptop for everyone to see. “Back in 1999 there was an explosion of sort. Then there’s series of people going into Apathy Syndrome. Just stop caring about things around them, so much so they can just walk into a traffic and get killed. Some even went as far as slipping into a vegetative state. Sounds familiar to you?”

“That’s it!” Akechi snaps his fingers and point at the laptop before he walks over and looks at it a bit closer. Ren narrows his eyes — the symptoms Futaba described sound disgustingly accurate, even if he hadn’t even seen the guy before the accident.

“Is this the beginning of something too big for us alone to handle?” He mutters. The Thieves say nothing to that, but the looks on their faces have him convinced that he just, in fact, hit the nail on the head. He sighs and says out a bit louder than he has intended. “Fuck.”

“But at least we now got _something_ we can work on,” Akechi says. “Tatsumi Port Island. I have to make a trip to that place for a bit of work anyway, so I’ll see if there’s anything I can find.”

“What work? Detective work?” Ren asks. He knows for a fact that Akechi’s records are unblemished (since no one else knows who’s behind all those Shutdowns), but he’s backed by Shido, isn’t he? Then how could he still find work —

“I still have my deduction skills, thank you very much,” Akechi cuts his thoughts off dryly. Ren blinks and looks away. _Goddamnit he’s so perceptive._

Ryuji just looks back and forth at their exchanges (it’s admittedly a bit disjointed) before he waves it off and says. “Then I guess we leave this to Akechi for now, huh? We should investigate the Mementos on our own during the meantime, too, I guess?”

“I agree,” Kitagawa says, arms crossed. “And I propose we inform Narukami-san’s group as well, see if they have any knowledge on this matter.”

“Futaba,” Ren says curtly.

“On it.”

“This is one big mess, isn’t it?” He says with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then slaps his cheeks, hard enough to make the others jump. “We start by looking at this Apathy Syndrome. Futaba, see if there’s anything or anyone else that’s tied to the incident at Tatsumi Port Island. Makoto, help her out.”

“Alright,” Makoto says with a nod.

Ren turns to the rest of the team. “The rest of you are with me. Tomorrow we’re investigating the Mementos again. With his suicide there might be a clue for us. You up for a fight, Yoshizawa?”

“Of course,” She answers firmly.

“Then it’s settled,” He says, getting up to his feet. “Thanks for coming, guys. See you later.”

There are choruses of goodbyes, and lingering gazes directed his ways. He pays them little mind as he waits until they all descended downstairs, save for Makoto (whom he intends on walking home) and, surprisingly, Akechi.

He frowns and looks at the Detective Prince. “Why are you still here?”

“…Just making sure,” He says quietly before nodding at him and walking out. Ren’s gaze follows until he disappeared, before he turns to Makoto.

“Makoto, I’ll walk—”

“Can I just stay the night?” She interrupts suddenly. “I’ll call Sis. Tell her what happened.”

Sae already knows about the Thieves, after all. Although, he’s still unsure whether to rope her along for this or not. But he trusts Makoto’s judgement, so he nods and goes over to a pile of clothes and pulls out hers (don’t even begin to ask him _why_ it’s there). “Here.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ll stay at Futaba’s tonight,” Morgana says. Ren smiles at the not-cat and watches him hops out the window.

“Makoto,” He calls, sitting on the old couch and patting the spot beside him. Makoto walks over and sits down. He puts his arms on the backseat, just a bit over her shoulders. He looks at her as she fumbles with her phone. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not,” She says truthfully.

“Me neither,” He says, leaning his head on hers.

It takes her a while to finally have the courage (or to calm herself down enough) to finally call her sister. The call is brief, and Makoto doesn’t divulge much, but from her tone it seems like Sae would want and in-depth explanation later.

She sighs. “I’m going to explain all of this to Sis later. Is that okay?”

“Of course,” He says. Her hand finds his and she grabs it tight, her palm sweating. He doesn’t move from his position, as awkward as it feels. “Well, this blows.”

“Mhm,” She hums, tracing the scars on his hand with her fingers. “I’m going to have nightmares for a few weeks, aren’t I?”

That wasn’t really a question, and she shares his sentiment. Not _exactly_ , though. “Makes that a few _months_. I can’t believe I have all the luck in the world to see… that.”

She laughs quietly. “At least we have each other.”

“That, we do.”

He closes his eyes, and relaxes against her.

This is going to be one long arduous road, isn’t it?

* * *

“That’s… concerning,”

Yu says after Rise shows him what Sakura and Shirogane had said. This Apathy Syndrome thing seems scarier than a few murders in Inaba years ago, and that’s saying something.

“It’s a good thing my gigs for at least a year or two is set in Tokyo,” Rise says, huffing slightly. “Inoue-san is a godsend; he manages to secure me works that’s within an hour of commute from Tokyo.”

“He’s the best manager,” Yu agrees with a smile. He then looks down at his phone. “This Apathy Syndrome and the suicide victim Amamiya mentioned concerns me. If Shadows are affecting the real world…”

“Akechi-kun has already made a move on that,” Rise says. “I asked Naoto-chan, she’s looking into the connections right now. Tatsumi Port Island is notorious for housing some… questionable facilities.”

“Right,” He murmurs. “I tried going to Mementos the other day, even used Izanagi-no-Ookami. Nothing besides your everyday Shadows. Just mindless blobs loitering around.”

“Next time you wanna go in, just give me a call,” Rise says with a smile, her hand over his. He interlaces their fingers and squeezes her hand gently. “I’m sure I’d be able to locate stronger Shadows, or better yet… Shadows that know something useful.”

“Yeah, looks like that’s gonna be the way to go for us,” He says. “Amagi’s prepping for a temporary move to Tokyo. She had plans on studying MBA anyways so this is a good opportunity.”

“I see! How about Chie-senpai?”

“Local gym trainer. Still trying to find a job here, but she has a few connections with friends from the police academy so I’m not worried,” Yu says.

“That’s good,” Rise nods. “How are your studies going?”

“Not terrible,” Yu says with a small chuckle. “But I still get teased every now and then because everyone on campus knows I’m dating you.”

She laughs. Yu couldn’t help but smile wider; her laughter is contagious. She leans in a bit closer. “I think, with how things are developing, we’re going to get teased a hell lot more.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Yu sighs. “I want this Persona business over with, but I guess that’s not gonna happen anytime soon, huh?”

“I guess not.”

“Oh! A surprise seeing you here, Rise-san!”

They turn to see a blonde twin-tailed Thief waving at Rise from the door. She waves back as the blonde skips closer, and Rise scoots over slightly. He nods at the girl. “Takamaki Ann, right?”

“Yep!” She chirps. “So _he’s_ your boyfriend. I mean, I can never tell! You’re all so professional inside the Metaverse.”

“Is that so?” He says, sipping his coffee as he waves for the waiter.

“You’re always so cold to me on the job, Senpai,” Rise pouts at him. Yu has never realized this before, but… was he that absorbed?

“Anyways,” He coughs. “How’re you guys holding up?”

“Not as good as we want, but we’re hanging in there,” She states truthfully. “Our leader’s in a bit of a down, but we planned on investigating the Mementos again, since we found nothing today. We should coordinate our joint investigation again sometime.”

“Sounds good,” Yu nods. “And tell your leader he can leave some of the work to me. As a Senpai, I gotta make sure my Kouhai is okay.”

“Thanks a bunch!” She says with a bright smile.

“Why are you here, anyway?” Rise asks, ordering her smoothie as well as Takamaki’s.

“We just finished today’s investigation,” Takamaki explains. She does look a little worn out, Yu notes to himself. “Right now, Amamiya’s… stressed. But he still manages. I’ll force him to take time off until school starts, don’t worry.”

“That’s good,” He smiles. “Time off is also important. You can leave some of the work to me. College students are freer, well, sometimes.”

“Alright, I’ll tell him that. Thanks!” She grins.

“You’re welcome.”

.

Once Takamaki leaves, he decides to call someone directly.

He remembers the flash of green as the world freezes for a second. Most of his friends except Shirogane were asleep, so they wouldn’t have known… and he’s planning on asking someone about it.

Avoiding Rise’s look by going to the bathroom, he waits for the other side to pick up, then he gets thrown around from one speaker to another, just as he’s expected.

After ten minutes of getting redirected, his call finally lands on where he intends, and he doesn’t need to wait long before someone pick up.

“ _It’s kinda surprising, you calling me,_ ” The other drawls, voice groggy, but there’s no real annoyance in it. “ _But hey, better than being lonely. So, what’s up, Hero-kun?_ ”

“Adachi-san,” Yu says firmly. “There’s something I would like to ask you.”

* * *

She’s so _not_ getting any sleep.

Right here, right now, she’s drowned inside stacks after stacks of reports. Even with one superhuman helper, she’s not going to survive this if it keeps up.

At first, it’s the Phantom Thieves, and then the whole fiasco at Shibuya. No problem, that was already dealt with. By the Thieves, no less. Then Yamagishi started reporting strange readings – sporadic appearances of powerful Shadows, spikes in their concentrations, and some other phenomenon. It started getting out of control at the beginning of March, where there were appearances of a stunningly powerful Shadow and another, equally powerful, unclassifiable entity, whose readings disappeared as soon as they came.

They’ve pinpointed the phenomenon to Tokyo, but that’s about it. The two powerful entities are then reported again at Shibuya subway, and a large power spike appeared shortly afterwards. Then, silence – nothing more for them to work with.

“Mitsuru-san,” The voice calls, derailing her train of thoughts. She looks up from the reports to see Aigis with a cup of tea in her hands. She places it down on the desk. “You should take a break.”

“I wish I can,” She says, rubbing her eyes. “I’m concerned about the reappearance of the Dark Hour, no matter how brief it is.”

The android stays silent for a moment before she starts lifting the stacks of papers off her table. “I know, I’m as concerned as you are, but you cannot run yourself ragged and expect a good result.”

“That’s… true,” She relents, putting down the report in her hands and looking out the window. “Alright, a break it is.”

Aigis smiles. “I’ve already informed every members of the Shadow Operatives. Sanada-san and Yukari-san are already in Tokyo. Amada-san and Koromaru will be transferring to a university in Tokyo shortly, as per your instruction.”

She nods. “That’s good. Iori might take a few more days. How about their weapons?”

“Sent,” The android responds. “They all have confirmed the arrival of the packages.”

“At least that’s done with,” She sighs, standing up and walking towards the window overlooking the city. “What about the Persona Users?”

“From the planted bugs, it seems they’re commencing an investigation of their own in a place called _Mementos_ ,” Aigis informs, her pristine face sports an unusual frown. “They have not used the Evokers, however, so I assume they themselves have their ways of bringing out their Personas.”

“For now, keep a tab on them. We’ll need to contact them as soon as we can find enough information regarding… all of this.” She says with a sigh.

“Roger.”

A pause. Mitsuru knows sending them _Evokers_ and wiring them some money are… suspicious, at best, but she needs their powers. And since her means of investigation is limited, she might or might not have done all of that to goad them to act.

It works, much to her relief. Their decisions to take the matters into their own hands solidify her beliefs that the team from Inaba and this group called Phantom Thieves are competent, and not bad people. However, what concerns her is the fact that both groups have access to this _Metaverse_ , while she did not.

It annoys her.

“One thing, Mitsuru-san,” Aigis says, her voice strange… there’s a mix between annoyance and concern.

“What is it?”

“During the small period of the Dark Hour, I’ve confirmed the “feelings” of something missing that I’ve mentioned to you before,” She begins, blue eyes looking directly at her. Mitsuru remembers the android saying she feels something amiss at the start of March – the same time the two powerful beings appeared – although she has never confirmed what it is.

To say it now means that it’s something relating to either Personas or her Wild Card abilities.

Mitsuru doesn’t like either being the case.

“And what is it?” She says, hands tensing around her arms, waiting for the answer.

“One of my Personas,” She says, eyes hard. “Thanatos… is _gone_.”

“…What?”

“I can summon any other Personas just fine,” She quickly says, and that eases Mitsuru up a little bit. Aigis then continues. “I can summon Orpheus; I can still feel it. Even _Messiah_ is there, although half of its body’s crumbled and dusted, as if a part of it is missing. But Thanatos doesn’t respond to my call. It doesn’t _exist_.”

“How is that possible?” She hisses.

“I don’t know,” She says. “All I know is that my Wild Card abilities are intact. The only thing missing is Thanatos. I propose we proceed with this in mind.”

“Got it,” She says, sighing. “For now—”

Suddenly, the world stops.

The sky turns green, the moon nowhere to be found. She turns to the clock, locked at exactly midnight. The AC, the lights, all stay still. She then looks at Aigis, her eyes wide.

“March 27th,” She reads the calendar, then her eyes go to the wall-mounted clock. “Exactly midnight.”

The green. The total halt of all devices. The eerie silence.

The Dark Hour.

Aigis nods. Mitsuru grabs the rapier that she keeps with her at all times, then opens the drawer. Her Evoker lies in there, silver glinting in the light of the Dark Hour.

“Aigis. Get Yamagishi.”

“Understood.”

* * *

Rem wakes up to Morgana sitting on his chest and pawing his face off.

Why the hell is he here, isn’t he supposed to be at Futaba’s? Or has Makoto’s elongated stay annoyed him that much?

“Ow. Stop, Morgana,” He says sleepily, swatting at the not-cat. He fumbles for his phone and grabs it—

Huh? Why’s the screen black?

“Ren,” Morgana says, his tone urgent. Ren picks up the underlying uneasiness and springs up.

Makoto is up already, and she’s looking out the window. His eyes follow, to see the dark sky… but it’s not black.

It’s green.

The sky. Is fucking _green_.

“What the _fuck_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANNOUNCEMENT;  
> GOOD NEWS; that three part series I mentioned? It's getting turned into a full blown long fic... and I'll be posting it tomorrow, so please look forward to it!
> 
> BAD NEWS; I'm putting this thing onto a biweekly update schedule to give me a breather. Because I finished like 25k words on that long fic already, so I'm buying myself more time lololol
> 
> Anyways, be seeing you around, folks! This thing will not be abandoned, I promised thee!


	9. The Dark Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What is this?" Makoto says, looking around, a hand on his sleeve at the eerie silence. She tries to turn on her phone. "My phone's not working. I charged it."
> 
> He tries his. "Mine's not working, either. What the hell is…"
> 
> He trails off, a pang of pain, and Lavenza's voice echoes in his head.
> 
> 'The Dark Hour is upon you. Be careful.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Alright, biweekly, people! As promised!
> 
> Don't let me keep you! Please enjoy this one, too! :D

**_Chapter Nine: The Dark Hour_ **

"What the actual _fuck_!?"

Ren repeats after a short pause. The sky is a shade of green, the moon dark and barely recognizable. Eerie silence replaces the car horns and the people. He glances at Morgana who promptly hops out of the bed then at Makoto, who locks eyes with him for a brief moment.

He quickly gets up and grabs her shirt, throwing it her way while he gets to dressing his own. Once he's done, he noticed that Morgana –

"Morgana, how in the world could you turn into a monster cat?" Ren asks, incredulous, at Morgana's Metaverse form. The cat (not-cat) looks down and jumps around frantically.

"What!? I didn't even notice I changed, and no, I'm _not_ a cat!" He yells back.

"What is this?" Makoto says, looking around, a hand on his sleeve at the eerie silence. She tries to turn on her phone. "My phone's not working. I charged it."

He tries his. "Mine's not working, either. What the hell is…"

He trails off, a pang of pain, and Lavenza's voice echoes in his head.

_The Dark Hour is upon you. Be careful_.

"The Dark Hour," Ren says aloud. Morgana and Makoto turn to him, and he stands straight up, his mind reeling. He remembers Igor's words, and this – this strange feeling, and Lavenza's voice. This confirms it. "This is the Dark Hour Igor's been talking about."

They fall silent.

Then there's a loud noise from the stair, the clinking of chains and loud footsteps. He instinctively pushes Makoto backwards. And as the large, shadowy silhouette comes into view from _his staircase_ , his mind and his other self are screaming at him to _move_.

"Run. RUN!" He yells and quickly throws Morgana ( _sorry_ ) out of the window, then ushers Makoto out. He looks back to see that one eyeball rolling inside a bloodstained cloth sack, two long revolvers being dragged alongside it. Makoto tries to reach for him, but he quickly pushes her out.

The chain finds his ankle and he's pulled into the floor, his head hitting the wood harder than he had anticipated. He rolls around to find himself at the firing end of the crooked gun.

_Oh shit_.

He manages to lean his head away just in time, and his right ear rings so loud he couldn't centre himself for a while. In his daze, the other barrel finds him. Deformed finger pulls down on the trigger, and he thinks for a split second that he might actually die this time, only to find that something had pushed the gun away.

"Ren! Come on!" Makoto screams at him, one hand outstretched. He follows her eyes to see that she'd thrown her phone at the gun.

He quickly pulls his ankle away from the chain and punches the damn Reaper in the eye before running to the window, ignoring the growing pain in his ankle. It lets out inhuman roars as he climbs out and pulls Makoto down as a small beam of light pierces the air where her head was.

"Go to Futaba! Go!" He yells and jumps down from the roof. Makoto follows closely with Morgana in her arms. He looks back at Leblanc as the damn thing crawls out of the window and lands on the street like a pile of boneless meat before the chains clink together as it rises up. He spits as he makes a sharp turn, pulling the other two with him.

"Why is the Reaper in the real world!?" Morgana hisses as they sprint into the opposite direction from Sojiro's house to lose the Reaper. Ren alternates between looking at the street ahead of him and glancing behind. He could still hear the terrifying moans and the sound of metal against asphalt from the darkness they had just left from.

"Hell if I know!" He replies.

"This is too quiet," Makoto states. "All I see are _coffins_. There's no people here!"

"Fuck!" Ren curses as they near Sojiro's house. As soon as the gate's within sight, he sees Futaba stumbling out with a scream, a dark goop sliding towards her. Ren's legs carry him on their own as he grabs Futaba by the wrist and pulls her away from the swiping claw.

"Futaba, you okay?" Morgana asks. "That damn thing just keeps chasing us!"

"Just fucking run!" He orders and lags behind slightly, clubbing the Shadow nearest to him with a pipe lying in his path.

Makoto throws her shoes at the Shadows. After that, she growls, one hand dragging Futaba along while the other grabs Morgana and carries him. More and more familiar masks on black liquid pops up from _everywhere_ , and the sound of the Reaper inches closer and closer. Ren curses as he directs the others to take another sharp turn towards a nearby shrine.

Once they're there, he leads them to the building itself and opens the door. The creaking of the woods is not too loud, so he hopes they don't get caught here. Once he pushes the gate closes, he slumps to the ground, panting. He tries getting up again, but his left leg gives out under him.

There are chain marks on his skin, and his ankle is swollen. He curses the Reaper once before sitting back down, a hand gripping at the swollen appendage. He then looks up and, after a moment of him catching his breath, he says, "You guys okay?"

"We're good," Makoto whispers. She takes a peek at her wristwatch and frowns. "My watch isn't working."

"Nor any of my electrical devices," Futaba says. "Thanks for saving me."

"No problem," Ren says, giving her a thumbs up. "Where's Sojiro? Is he okay?"

"Dunno," Futaba replies, holding her knees to her chest. "I caught a glimpse of a coffin in the living room, though, so I guess…"

"Coffins in the streets," Ren begins, voice low. "Those must be the people."

"So, in this… Dark Hour, the only people awake are us?" Morgana surmises, hopping to where Ren is to take a look at his ankle. He inhales sharply when the cat touches his injury. He looks up at Ren with a frown. "Ren, I think this is either broken or badly twisted."

"Yeah," He nods. "I'm not moving anywhere anytime soon," He pauses, closing his eyes and listening to the faint noises outside. "For now, I don't think there's anything we can do except waiting."

"Right. But this Dark Hour…" Makoto begins.

The others then start talking in hushed whispers, speculating, formulating, while Ren starts to zone out, his mind too tired to really pay attention. He tries, he really does, but he can't focus on their words for three seconds without feeling a sharp pain in his head.

He then feels like he's alone in the vast darkness. Ren blinks and looks around, seeing no one, hearing nothing, feeling only the freezing air around him.

Then, a voice.

_I am here._

"Who…?" He murmurs, a hand on his head.

But before he can really think on it, the word leaves his mouth on its own.

" _Raoul_."

There's blue flame erupting from his face, and it rises to the empty space before him. He could see Makoto looking at him in shock while Morgana and Futaba reel backwards. The flame shifts, forming itself into a silhouette with wings and a red fedora.

He gasps as his other self forms fully before him, tangible in the real world.

"How…"

" _These very seconds… is the moment when two worlds collide,"_ Raoul begins, voice low and soothing, a hand on his hat while the other sits on his waist, a thumb hooking at his belt. His red, nearly formless eyes looking directly at him. " _Reality and Metaverse are now one. The Shadows can manifest themselves here, and so can I._ "

Ren looks at his other self for a time, mind not comprehending his words. He's then snapped back to reality when Makoto walks over to him, her eyes on Raoul.

"So you're saying… we can use our Personas here…?"

" _Summoning your other self, you mean? Yes,_ " He says with a small bow. " _But the summoning itself will be more taxing here than in the Metaverse, for you must force your other self to cross the border between worlds. Such is inevitable._ "

Ren could feel his head getting heavier. He's losing grip on Raoul, so he needs to ask whatever he can, fast, before his other self leaves. "Do you know anything else? About this Dark Hour?"

_"I do not,_ " He says with a shake of his head. _"It is best you speak with whoever have experienced it before. However, I can say for certain that this is not the first time something of this nature has happened upon this world._ "

"…We'll work on that," Ren says after a brief pause. He has a few ideas where to start.

Raoul nods at him. " _Then I shall retreat, for now. Call my name whenever you need my strength, Trickster. I shall continue to be your mask._ "

With a flap of his wings, and an eruption of azure flame, Raoul is gone.

No sound, no words is uttered for what feels like hours.

Finally, Ren says, "Fuck my life."

* * *

He isn't quite sure how long they've holed up there, but as soon as the sky returns to its original color, his fucking phone _blows up_.

There are lots of texts from his fellow Persona-Users, both from the Thieves and the Investigation team, without a single letter from those who isn't. He quickly scrolls past all of them to see, much to his relief, that everyone's responding.

He types into the joint chat between the two group.

**Joker: We need to talk. Right now.**

Choruses of agreements reply to his request. Ren sighs and nods at the others before he shakily gets up. Makoto helps steady him, putting one arm around his waist. Morgana (now a cat) climbs onto Futaba shoulder as she comes over and steadies him.

"Of all the Shadows there is, it's gotta be a fucking _Reaper_ ," He hisses. "And here I thought I used up all my bad luck with my sentence and Shido and Yaldaboath."

"At least we're alive," Futaba says. She then makes a small _oh_. "Narukami says we should meet up at Leblanc now. What say you?"

"That'd be best," He grits out, unable to put a weight on his ankle. "Ow, fuck."

"Who goes there?"

They all freeze and look up, having just walked out of the Shrine. Morgana hisses, while Makoto subtly pushes him backwards a little. He narrows his eyes as two figures walk towards them, but he can't quite make out who they are, so he just replies with, "We got lost, sorry. We're leaving now."

"You're a terrible lair, Amamiya," Drawls the shorter boy as he walks close enough for them to see, and somehow the Thieves both tense up and relax at once.

"Yuuki and… Mochizuki…?" He calls, confused.

The two boys walk closer, Yuuki holding instant coffee in his hand. His eyes narrow slightly as he takes in the sight of them – and Ren couldn't blame him. They… are disheveled, Makoto doesn't have shoes, Morgana is on Futaba's shoulders, and the girl herself looks like she'd just seen a ghost.

"You people look like absolute shit," Yuuki says. And, after a pause. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken," Ren murmurs.

"We heard some noises so we thought you might be those thugs who'd come to steal from the donation box," Mochizuki says and jogs over to them. "What happened to your ankle?"

"Twisted it," He replies, still half-confused. "How are you here?"

"How?" Yuuki says, tilting his head. "We were heading for the vending machine. What are you people even doing here?"

Ren frowns. It seems like none Persona Users would be oblivious to this Dark Hour thing, just like they had thought. He elects not to say anything else about it and cooks up a lie to cover up instead. "We got chased by rabid dogs and we kinda run here."

"Rabid dogs?" Mochizuki questions as he replaces Makoto, steadying Ren by throwing one of Ren's arm over his shoulder. Mochizuki's surprisingly strong, he notes off-handedly. "That ankle looks nasty."

"You want to go to a clinic to get that looked at?" Yuuki asks, one hand holding his phone as he gestures at his injury.

Ren shakes his head. "I'll do that tomorrow. Sorry to bother you—"

"It's fine," Mochizuki cuts him off. "So, where do you want us to drop you at?"

Their eyes tell him they'll not let him refuse their offer, so he just nods and says, "Leblanc, please."

.

The walk is a bit longer than he wants it to be. But considering the fact that they were running for their lives, it's not hard to believe that they had covered some unbelievable distances.

Yuuki seems disinterested, aside from the occasional concerned glances at his ankle. He mostly listens to music with one earbud, a hand in his pockets, fingers scrolling through a few articles. He doesn't even look where he is walking half of the time. Mochizuki, on the other hand, is openly concerned, and had asked a few questions. After Ren shot him down (for the fourth time) he finally drops the subject.

Then, out of the blue, Yuuki says, "Two."

"Huh?"

"Oh. Uh. Sorry," He quickly says, waving his hand. He then looks at Mochizuki, who's eyeballing Yuuki hard enough he could give the man a hole on his forehead. "I'm just a bit lost in thoughts."

"And you said I'm spontaneous," Mochizuki says with a huff. "You're worse."

"Am not."

"You are."

"Am _not_."

"Um," Ren cuts in, as their bickering is about to make them walk past his destination. They both turn to him as he desperately points at the sign of the Café. "We're here. Thanks for helping."

"Oh! Oops, sorry," Mochizuki says and slowly and gently lets Ren go. He only really steps away when Ren finally stands on his feet (or rather, _foot_ ). "Make sure you get that to the doctor, alright?"

"Says the one who insists on not taking me to the hospital," Yuuki says what Ren's thinking with a straight face and a deadpan tone, making him splutters. He could hear Morgana and Makoto coughing behind him.

"Makoto! You know I had good reasons!"

"Yeah, but saying that to Amamiya is like the pot calling the kettle black," Yuuki continues, relentless.

"Why are you so _mean_ —"

"Anyway," Yuuki says, ignoring Mochizuki completely (the poor man) before he waves at them. "Do have that looked at, though. I'm concerned."

"I will," He reassures. "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime," The two choruses before they retrace their steps back.

He looks after them for a long while, a thought nagging at the back of his mind. Their timing seems a bit _too perfect_ , but since Raoul doesn't make a comment, he decides to think over it later. He sighs before turning his attention towards a rather crowded café. "Well then… this night's only half over."

* * *

His first experience with this… Dark Hour is not a pleasant one.

And he doubts it is for anyone, after seeing their grim expressions and their tired faces.

Yu still feels sluggish, having summoned Izanagi to defend himself. It's out of sheer luck that he even thought of summoning one at all, thanks to a vague hint Igor gave them. Even then, feeling his energy being ripped out of him in order to manifest his Persona, or feeling pain when Izanagi was attacked, are definitely one of the worst experiences he'd ever had the displeasure to have.

At least he's having it better than Amamiya. Being chased down by a Reaper is not a fun thought.

He stands by the counter, arms crossed. He doesn't know where to begin. He looks around; most of his team are shaken, and Rise is outright terrified. It's a good thing they were together – he doesn't want to imagine Rise being out there alone when this Dark Hour business began.

Tatsumi and Shirogane stay together, their hands locked. Tatsumi is putting on a brave face, Yu could tell; he jumps at every little chime, but when he looks at Shirogane he seems to pull himself together enough to reassure her. The detective herself has an expression that's a mixture of fear and, if Yu dares to say, _awestruck_. But he supposes that comes with being investigative by nature.

Amagi, Satonaka, Kuma and Yosuke sit together with some of the Thieves. Amagi and Satonaka were lucky they didn't run into anything, while Yosuke, being Yosuke, had the luck of being chased by _everything_ excepted the Reaper. Kuma seems to have been confronted by some of those monsters, too, but Yu isn't too sure. The bear is _silent_ , though, so that says enough for now.

The Thieves huddle together. They seem more… used to the violence and the jump-scares somewhat, but it's still life-and-death experiences, so he doubts any of them make it out of this scotch-free. He'll have to check up on them later, especially Amamiya, who's the worst off out of all of them.

"For now, none of us should be alone during night time," Yu begins. "We have no idea when or how this Dark Hour will start again, so we'd best be prepared."

"A group of at least two to three people, I think, would be best," Amamiya adds, still propping his injured foot onto a stool, a pack of ice on it. He winces as he shifts slightly. "During that time, if we can use Personas, I'd suggest the navigators coordinate their own teams together. Intergroup communications would also be preferable, but I think it's a secondary priority to intragroup network."

"I agree with the idea," Akechi says, a hand on his chin. "Although… this Dark Hour makes my planned trip to Tatsumi Port Island somewhat hazardous, but it cannot be help."

"Allow us to accompany you," Shirogane says. She glances at Tatsumi, who nods. "We'll not do anything to slow down your own work, and having a few people together will be safer."

"Proposal accepted," Akechi says with a sigh. "As much as I want to decline it, I know I cannot. This turn of events is much more dangerous than anything I'd ever anticipated."

"How about the rest of us?" Yu asks, eyeing Rise. "I'll be fine staying with Yosuke, since we're in the same dorm and all."

The team then starts to chat amongst themselves, grouping up. He sighs and sits on the stool, propping his chin on his palm. He watched as Amamiya massages his leg, the angry red chain marks still visible. Yu shudders at the mere memories of facing one of those monsters, and while Amamiya hasn't told them everything yet, he can hypothesize on his own about what had happened.

And judging from a slight burn on his face that shaped like a barrel of a gun, one could only assume just how close he was to a Reaper during the cursed hour.

Yu's hand flies to his ear, wincing at the faint memories of the Reaper's Megidolaon.

Once they are done splitting into small groups, Amamiya begins again. "Now that we at least have the contingency plans for the time being… we need to contact this Artemisia, and soon."

"I agree," Yu says. "This person seems to have some knowledge about it. I'll leave it to you three, Shirogane, Tatsumi, Akechi."

"Roger."

"Now that that's settled, stay vigilant, everyone," Yu murmurs. "Good night."

.

Once everyone is gone, excepted for the few who decided to stay at Leblanc (namely Morgana, Amamiya and Niijima), Yu nods at the Thieves' leader. "You sure you're going to be fine, Amamiya?"

"Yes," He says, attention not here, but some place far away. "Thanks."

"…Leave the leading of the Thieves to me, for now," He offers. While he knows he's been out of the game for a bit longer than is healthy for his skills, not to mention the remnants of distrusts between groups, he is more mature and level-headed than Amamiya is right now. The boy's clearly agitated and rattled. "Take this time to cool down for a bit."

"But—"

Niijima steps up. "Ren. Take the offer. You know you can't lead anyone around right now, with what's been going on."

The boy glares at Yu for a long, long time. But his eyes finally soften as he relents. "…Sorry. Alright, then we'll be in your care for the time being."

Yu nods. The clocks tick 2 am already, but he feels so wide awake he could go on for one more day (or maybe he'll crash in class, who knows?) before he needs resting. He crosses his arms and rubs the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to visit the Velvet Room for a bit. See you later, Amamiya. And _do_ get that look at."

"I will."

.

Rather than his own Velvet Room, he finds himself in a blue prison. Amamiya's, he recalls. Yu steps out of the cell he's in only to be greeted by the small, long-haired girl.

"Welcome," She says with a bow. "Margaret Nee-san is busy at the moment, so you'll be in my care for the time being, Narukami-san."

"Okay," He says with a small smile. "I didn't catch your name before. You're Amamiya's attendant, right?"

"Oh, my apologies," She states. "Yes, I'm the Trickster's attendant. My name is Lavenza. A pleasure."

"Pleasure's all mine," He says, seating himself on a rather comfortable chair, across from Igor's usual seat. Igor is nowhere to be found, and he frowns slightly. "Where's Igor?"

"I cannot say, lest the malevolent entity interferes with your business," She responds with a pained expression. Yu frowns. From Amamiya's story (or as much as he's willing to share, at least), that happened once before with a god named Yaldabaoth. Clearly, this must also be the doings of a god that is at _least_ Yaldabaoth's equal.

Instead, Yu settles with a quiet, "I see."

"So," She starts, gold eyes that are much softer than Margaret's looking at him. "How can I help you?"

"The Dark Hour," He says, arms crossed, eyes squinted. "When will it happen again?"

"I know not the answer," She says with a small bow. Yu suppresses the urge to sigh, and Lavenza continues with a small smile. "But from what Elizabeth Nee-san told me, the previous Dark Hour occurred at exactly midnight, and last for exactly one hour."

Yu's eyes widen slightly. It is a useful information, even if it's not accurate. "Thanks. That helps."

"You're most welcome, Truth Seeker," She says, opening her tome and bringing out an Arcana. She holds it up before him; it's the Aeon. "There is a Fool, who was once an Aeon. Seek her out, and she will prove vital to your Journey."

"A Fool… that was an Aeon?" His mind goes back to Marie, but she's not a Fool. This must be the other Wild Card Igor has mentioned before. "…You can't tell me where I can find her, can you?"

"No, I cannot," She shakes her head, but there's no apology following the statement. Instead, there is a smile on her lips. "But do not worry. She has already found you, and in time, she will make herself known. But seeking her out will quicken the process, so I suggest you do so."

"Alright, thanks," He says with a nod. Then, "Is she this so-called Artemisia?"

"No, but she's a close friend of hers," Lavenza responds. The Velvet Room shakes, as if hit by an earthquake. The girl frowns. "Looks like I must cease my advice here. My apologies, Truth Seeker."

"It's no problem," He says, holding up a hand. She has already provided him more than enough to go, even during the Velvet Room's so-called _invasion_. So all in all, Yu counts this as a successful visit. A very fruitful, highly informative visit. "I'll be seeing you around then, Lavenza."

"Very well. Best of luck, Narukami-san," She bows.

Looks like they've got more work to do.

* * *

"You done yet, Makoto?"

"Not yet," He says, trying to keep his voice steady. Lying to Ryoji is a real challenge — they can read each other like a book, so he has to put in a lot of work to even make a lie believable. "Gimme a minute."

"Okay!" Ryoji chirps quite happily from outside, signaling that he's still oblivious…

… To the fact that Makoto's having one of the more mind-numbing headaches at the moment.

"Fuck," He mutters under his breath, eyes closed, trying to keep his breathing under control. He splashes cold water over his head, a hand gripping the sink tightly. By pure luck, he's been able to ignore the pain since the end of the Dark Hour, but now that pain is getting unbearable.

He groans and lets water run all over his head for what feels like an eternity before he looks up, staring at his own reflection. Makoto can see an angry red mark, like a burn, on his neck. He clasps his hand over it and immediately regret the action as it makes his neck sting.

Summoning Ifrit _hurts_. He is strong, scarily so — maybe Ryoji's equal, even. But every time Makoto pulls the trigger, he feels like a part of him's being burned away, reduced to ashes. His trigger finger is numb, and right now he can't feel the part of his neck that sports the red mark. His headache grows stronger and stronger with each summoning, and even after a few hours have already passed, it's still not entirely gone.

And that's not the only concern. Two hours – that's how long this one Dark Hour has been, and he dreads the next one. He doesn't even know if one'll show up tomorrow or not, or _when_ it will show up. But when it does, if the duration stretches out more than _two_ …

He shakes his head. He's been in here long enough; any longer and Ryoji's going to get suspicious. He looks up at the mirror, one last time —

— and sees a pair of unrelenting red orbs staring right back at him.

And as quickly as they come, the eyes are gone.

"…What the hell's that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah, I'm sorry, foreshadowing is a bit heavy here. And no, because I suck, They ain't gonna know Makoto is a Wild Card for a while longer yet... so hold yer horses, folks. It'll be a loooooooong time, but still! Wild Card friendships are still up! So at least take solace in that lol
> 
> Be seeing ya next time!


	10. Repose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How you two are best friends sometimes (most of the time) intrigues me," Ren comments, picking out a tuna sushi that's cleverly hidden inside the tray. "You two are polar opposite."
> 
> "Only on some things," Mochizuki corrects him.
> 
> "More like most things, Ryoji."
> 
> "That's not true!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Sorry I'm a bit late, tests happened. I'm alright now, though, totally toasted though lol
> 
> In which Ryoji's annoying the hell out of Makoto's sleeping schedule, bro moments between Ren and Yu, and a bit of a shenanigans between the four of them.
> 
> Enjoy!

**_Chapter Ten: Repose_ **

"Makoto."

He wakes up to Ryoji shaking him. He groans and pulls the cover over his head.

Ryoji sighs and shakes him harder. "Come on, Makoto. It's already almost _noon_ and you're still going to continue sleeping?"

" _Yes_ ," He hisses, curling further into himself. "Stop trying to wake me up and _let me nap_."

"Less like a nap and more like dying, to be honest," Makoto could hear the exasperation in his voice. He groans and decides that staying asleep any longer would be a hassle, so he just swats Ryoji away and groggily sits up. Ryoji's face lights up instantly. "There you go!"

"You're like a mother hen," Makoto comments, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes as he yawns and stretches his arms above his head. "I hate you."

"Sure you do," Ryoji retorts without missing a beat, and Makoto rolls his eyes as his own response. Still, he gets up and head for the bathroom. "Let's go wind down for today. I think we've earned it."

"Then why don't you just let me _sleep_ ," He groans and throws his hands up in defeat. "Our definitions of _winding down_ are in the opposite directions!"

Ryoji laughs merrily. "Come on, you'll enjoy it, I'm sure."

" _Right_ ," He bites out sarcastically and starts his morning ( _afternoon,_ Makoto corrects himself) routine, brushing his teeth and cleaning his face. The headache and the burning sensation are mostly gone now, so he thinks it'll be fine.

Still, those red eyes from last night look… familiar, somehow. As if he'd seen them before.

He shakes his head and gets rid of that thought before coming out of the bathroom, fully dressed and still really tired. He only managed to get some sleep _when the sun came up_. He just wants to sleep the day away, goddamnit.

"Where're we going first?" He asks, grabbing his phone and plugging in an earbud into his ear.

"Weapon shops," Ryoji says with a grin. "We're going to pick you a sword."

"…You said we're heading out to _wind down_ , not to buy a fucking weapon," He deadpans, blinking lazily.

"It's a great way to wind down!" He says with another laughter. Makoto resists the urge to facepalm himself and just rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Once we're done with picking you some gears for beating up Shadows, we're hitting the gym. You want to punch me, right?"

"Yes," He answers without thinking. And, after some thoughts, "Yes, I'd _really_ love to."

"You can do that at the gym, then. I'll be your punching bag for the day," Ryoji says, thumbing himself with a _shit-eating grin_ that Makoto both loves and hates in equal measures. "Deal?"

"Fine," He growls. "Don't blame me if you get a black eye, because I sure as hell am going to give you one."

"Okay! Then it's settled!"

"You're _way_ too eager for this –"

"Come now, let's go!"

Ryoji then ushers him out without giving him another chance to retort.

* * *

Ren _kind of_ misses the _Untouchable Airsoft_ , to be honest.

The smell of metal and gunpowder greet his senses as soon as he steps inside. He carefully tries not to put too much weight into his ankle (luckily, it is not broken. He got a stink eye from Takemi, though) as he heads for the counter. Narukami whistles in approval, looking around the shop with interest.

Since Narukami's visit to the Velvet Room, the two Wild Cards agree that they need to be prepared for whatever shitstorm the Dark Hour is going to bring with it. And since they have no idea when one will begin again, assuming that it will occur every night is imperative.

Just thinking about fighting Shadows every single day already exhausts him. He shakes his head, getting rid of the thoughts, before leaning a bit over the counter. "Iwai-san! Are you here?"

"Comin'," The man drawls, yawning loudly. When he sees Ren, he smiles. "Been a while, kid. And who's that with ya?"

"A friend," He says. "I'm going to need to take a look at the usual for me, and um…"

"I prefer working with a katana," Narukami supplies with a small bow. "I'm Narukami Yu, sir."

"No need to be so formal," Iwai says, waving his hand and rubbing his neck. "Katana? That shit doesn't come in cheap, kid."

"I'm well aware, sir," Narukami says with a chuckle. "I believe half of my savings during my time with the blade is… well spent, at least."

"So at least you know what's what. Good," Iwai says, eyes soften slightly as he beckons them closer. He then puts on the table catalogues of weapons _and_ materials. "I gave my shop a few tweaks. Custom-made weapons are always good, but it'd be better if you know what kinda options you have."

"Nice."

"Take your time. I ain't in a hurry." He yawns again. "The shop's lively today."

"Really?" Ren says.

"Yeah. A couple of young weapon enthusiasts came in just before you, picking out a sword and a wakizashi, I think? Eh, doesn't matter," Iwai swats his hand. "Take a good look, I'll be here if you need anything, kid."

"Thanks."

While the other members of their team _might need_ new weapons, they're still pretty satisfied with what they have in hand, so it's just the two with the worst luck in battle who'd get their upgrades, for now. Ren's glad he brings Narukami with him — the man's pretty knowledgeable on the subject, maybe a bit _too_ knowledgeable. But in times like this, too much information is always the way to go.

While they're picking at the materials, Narukami begins. "So, how's this friend of yours doing?"

"What friend?" He asks, running fingers over the picture of a particularly mean-looking blade.

"The one that suffered from some kind of Shadow-related illness?" He says, asking Iwai for one of the blades and testing its weight in his hands.

Ren frowns. While the boy's seemingly all good now, he still can't shake a feeling that he's involved with all of this, somehow. The way they met last night is in no way a coincidence to Ren – the Dark Hour seems to stop all none-Persona Users in their tracks. He had confirmed this by talking with Sojiro, and the man doesn't even _know_ what happened.

But Yuuki and Mochizuki said that they heard them in the shrine, so they might have just gone out to buy drinks from the vending machine, as they'd claimed. But the timing feels off to him. He can't quite put his fingers on it, but he has a hunch that he can't just let this slide, either.

So, he decides to voice his concern. "To me, I feel like they're also involved in this mess… I'm not sure how, I don't have a solid proof. And they don't seem to be affected by the Dark Hour, either, so it's kind of fifty-fifty."

Narukami hums. "An eye on them would be wise. If we can't rule them out, rule them in instead."

"That's actually very smart, Narukami-san."

Narukami snorts. "You said that as if I'm normally an idiot, Amamiya."

"…Sorry?"

The older man only laughs and pats his back with a free hand before trying out another blade. "It's fine. So, what's your weapon of choice, _Joker_?"

He asks for a dagger. "This."

The older man hums. "I think you might like a wakizashi, you know. Japanese short sword. They're like a katana, only more compact."

"I'm less a front-liner and more of a backstabber," He says, brandishing the blade in his hand. It feels good — the weight, the cold metal against his palm, the shine. "I like moving around and stabbing Shadows from the back."

"We're the complete opposite, then," Narukami says.

After a few more minutes (correction, a few more _hours_ ) of them idly chatting and picking out their weapons, they decide on ones they like most. Luckily, Iwai is in a very good mood (which is rare) and the man gives them a huge discount. But even with that, two blades still cost them a fortune.

They left the shop with their bags heavier and their wallets filled with almost nothing but air.

No, that isn't an exaggeration.

"Where are you heading after this, Narukami-san?" He asks, snuggling the bag closer to him. It feels weird not having Morgana around, but the not-cat insists on staying with Futaba, so he has to get used to that.

"I have not a place in mind," The man says. "Wanna go grab a bite? I'm kinda hungry."

"Sure."

.

They arrive at a sushi restaurant quite a distance away from the _Untouchable Airsoft_. The scent of fresh salmon and seasonings are something Ren isn't quite used to, but remembers fondly.

He follows Narukami to the counter, only to catch a hand waving at the corner of his eyes.

"…Mochizuki!?"

The scarfed boy smiles and waves them over. Yuuki is nowhere to be seen, but there's a backpack in the seat opposite from Mochizuki, so he guesses that's the shorter boy's seat. He nudges at Narukami, and the man nods.

"We always seem to meet like this, huh?" Ren says once they're at the table, Narukami taking a seat beside the talkative boy while he sits opposite from them.

"Yeah. Tokyo's not that small, but it looks like we have the same tastes in some things," Mochizuki says, scratching his cheek and glancing back. "What the hell takes Makoto so long? Did he fall into the toilet or something?"

Narukami snorts a laughter at that. Ren smiles slightly.

"Oh right. Haven't introduced myself yet," Narukami says with a cough before turning to face Mochizuki a bit more. "You're Mochizuki Ryoji, right? I'm Narukami Yu. This guy's friend."

"Oh! More friends! Nice meeting you," Mochizuki says enthusiastically, eyes beaming at the older boy. Then he glances at Ren. "You sure know a lotta people, Amamiya."

"Yeah," He says with a sheepish smile. He then takes a look at the menu. "You ordered anything yet?"

"We ordered _everything_ , so… yeah," He says with a chuckle. "Makoto is hungry. And he's pissed that I woke him up at _noon_ today."

Ren snorts and, after ordering his and Narukami's share of food, says, "I see he's not an early riser."

"I don't think he wants to wake up _at all_ most of the time," Mochizuki laughs merrily. One of the waiters brings to their table exactly seven trays of every kind of sushi imaginable. "Ooh! Here it is!"

"…You ordered these for only _two_ of you?" Narukami asks, incredulous. "It's both incredible and disturbing."

"Said someone who ate _two_ Big Bang Burgers on his own in one sitting," Ren teases, remembering the man casually devouring one after another in quick successions before they went to Iwai's shop. "Not that I'm any better, of course."

"Looks like all of us have some serious appetite," Mochizuki grins.

And then Ren spots Yuuki walking out of the bathroom, half-asleep on his feet. The boy walks over to them, blinks, before muttering a, "Wait what."

"Found them at the entrance so I let them join," Mochizuki explains.

"Oh," He says, before nodding at Ren and then at Narukami. "Um, I'm Yuuki Makoto."

"Narukami Yu," The older man says with a smile. "You look tired."

"I just wanna go back to sleep," He says, and as if to prove his point, yawns loudly. "Fuck, don't wake me up and just lemme sleep in next time."

"I will _not_ ," Mochizuki states cheekily. Yuuki groans and face-plants himself into the table.

"How you two are best friends sometimes ( _most of the time_ ) intrigues me," Ren comments, picking out a tuna sushi that's cleverly hidden inside the tray. "You two are polar opposite."

"Only on some things," Mochizuki corrects him.

"More like _most things,_ Ryoji."

"That's not true!"

"Ugh, what the _fuck_ ever," Yuuki groans and leans back, slowly beginning to eat his way through a tray. It looks like he's already on autopilot.

Ren chuckles. This is going to be a fun dinner.

.

After a long while of more idle chats and laughters (Yuuki barely laughed at any jokes due to how dead he was on his feet), they split up, with him and Narukami walking towards Leblanc.

"They seem like good people," Narukami hums, a gentle smile on his face. "And they remind me of my friends, as well. A bit… desynced, but close. Very close."

"That is true," He says, stifling down a yawn. "I'll still keep an eye on them, though. Just in case."

"Good call."

After a pause, Ren sniffs. "You want coffee?"

"Sure," The older man says. "Black coffee would be nice."

"Alright, then."

* * *

"I didn't expect to see you here, Yukari-san."

The woman in question turns to Aigis as she walks closer. Tatsumi Port Island during night time is as beautiful as she remembers. The soft whistling of the wind and the ruffling of the leaves sooth her heart, as robotic and dull as it is.

Yukari stands before a single grave, well kept and well visited. The markings have partially faded, but the name remains exactly as it is.

Aigis smiles as she walks over, stopping beside her, eyes carefully trace the outline of the gravestone. "It's a beautiful evening tonight, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Yukari hums noncommittally, her eyes staring at one particular spot. "…I missed him."

"I missed him, too," Aigis responds, lifting her eyes to look at the woman beside her. "I thought you were already in Tokyo."

"I was," She murmurs, kneeling down and touches the name engraved into the stone. "I felt like coming here… you know, before I have to take up arms for real again."

"I understand," She replies. "…His birthday is two weeks away, right?"

"Mhm," Yukari hums again, only half paying attention to Aigis now.

The android simply smiles and lets silence reign over them. The warm wind of spring blows from the sea, rustling their clothes as they remain there for a moment that seems to stretch to an eternity. Then, she says, almost too quiet for the other girl to hear. "I'll stay here as long as you need me to."

"Thanks," She says.

"Oh! Looks like I'm not the only one."

Aigis turns to see Junpei walking up the steps over to them, wearing the same baseball cap, but now with a shirt and a pair of black slacks instead of his usual baseball garb. Yukari follows her eyes, and the woman smiles ever so slightly. In a teasing tone, she greets, "Hey there, Mister Ace Defective."

"Stop calling me that!" Junpei groans, rolling his eyes. But his expression softens as he approaches them, kneeling down to be at the same level as Yukari. "You hanging in there, Yukari-cchi?"

"Yeah, somehow," She murmurs with a small chuckle. "I'll manage. Just… the new Dark Hour really screws with my head."

"It does, huh?" He parrots. "Gotta wonder what Makoto would actually say in this situation."

"I believe his exact words would be ' _not this shit again_ '," Aigis responds monotonously. After a brief pause, the three of them let out barely contained laughters of their own. She smiles. "I also believe he'll rush head-first into battles and try to do multiple tasks at once — maybe too many to be considered responsible."

"That's spot on!" Junpei says loudly. "How the hell did that guy juggle between us, fighting shadows, being flirted by Ryoji and joining in _every_ club activity anyways!?"

Yukari splutters. "I actually asked him that once. He said ' _I just do_ '. He's way too talented for me to understand, to be honest."

"Yeah, he's definitely one of a kind," He says with a smile, eyeing the grave again. He reaches out to pat the cold stone and says. "We miss you, pal. But we'll not be visiting for awhile."

"That's right," Yukari says, standing up and wiping off a few shed tears. "We'll make sure to win this one for you, too."

"Then, shall we? Did you drive here by any chance, Yukari-san? I… ran here. It is not pleasant for my suit," Aigis says, looking forlornly at the torn skirt in her arms. She might've gotten a _little_ caught up in the moment during the trip here.

Only a little. Crosses her processor and hopes to short circuit.

Yukari smiles. "Yeah. You can join us if you want, Junpei. I know you don't have a car."

"So mean," He sighs, but then stands straight up again "But yeah, that's a good idea. Let's go."

"Let's."

* * *

"Achoo!"

"Bless you."

Ryoji says as a reflex. There's not even a thought behind it. Makoto just rolls his eyes and goes about his own business (namely, cleaning and maintaining his Evoker out of habit rather than necessity) on the bed, legs crossed. He yawns stiffly again, thumb delicately tracing the barrel. He then puts the Evoker away and lies flat on his bed.

He idly thinks someone might have talked about him, since he just sneezes.

…That's probably a bit too superstitious.

"You look beat," The taller boy comments, flipping through another page of the book in his hand. Makoto just nods and lies spread eagle on the mattress, not even bother to remove the belt. Ryoji eyes him a bit. "Aren't you going to shower?"

"Tomorrow," He says.

"You stink."

"Shut up," He mutters… then sniffs at his arm. He narrows his eyes – all day out in Tokyo, and there're bounded to be some smell sticking to his cloth. Fuck. " _Fuck_."

"Told you," The other says with a chuckle. "Come on, go take a shower already, or you're going to stink up the bed, too."

"Yes, _mother_ ," He emphasizes the last word as he gets up, getting a weak _I am not_ from his friend. He snorts and grabs his things, his eyes turning to the clock. It reads 11.58 pm. "…If the Dark Hour comes up today, I'm going to be so fucking _pissed_."

"And wet," Ryoji adds. Makoto grabs his pillow and throws it at the boy's head, earning him a yelp.

"Don't jinx it, come on!" He says, grabbing Ryoji's shoulder and shakes him.

"Sorry, sorry!" He laughs, pushing Makoto's hand away. His sapphire eyes then glance at the same clock Makoto had just looked at a moment ago. "It's 11.59 now. You'd better wait."

"…Right, fine," He says, sitting back down onto the bed and picking at his nails. "…The Dark Hour makes things look like the Metaverse. Maybe this one is a bit different from the one seven years ago?"

"Possibly," He says with a solemn nod, closing his book. "The feeling of the Metaverse and the Dark Hour are pretty similar, too, so I think this Dark Hour might not be _just_ the extra hour of the day, but the convergence of the real world and the Metaverse."

Makoto pauses, then sighs. "That just complicates things even more than they already are."

"But it also means we can investigate outside of the Dark Hour too, doesn't it?" The taller boy comments, and he can't really argue with that. It means more time for them to sort things out, so more wins to them, he thinks.

"I guess so."

And as the clock ticks midnight… nothing changes.

"Fucking _finally_ ," He says, bolting up from his bed and shutting himself inside the shower.

He's going to nap his ass off tonight, and he isn't going to let Ryoji ruin it again.

.

Did he say something about sleeping his ass off last night?

Why must he jinx _everything_ himself?

Makoto groans as Ryoji's alarm blares right into his soul, rolling over to the side and covering his ears with both hands. He mutters colorful curses under his breath as he hears Ryoji fumbling around and slamming his hand (must be, because he hears something falling to the floor) onto his own phone. After a few minutes of total silences, he turns back, curious.

Ryoji. Is still. Fucking. _Sleeping_!

"You've got to be _shitting_ me!" He spits and rolls back again, eyeing his phone with its blinding-bright screen. The time reads _4.30 am_. "Why the fuck would you set an alarm _this stupidly early_ and not waking up to it!?"

He slams his own device onto the bed and tries to sleep again, to no avail. After nearly half an hour of frustration and multiple failed attempts at both going back to sleep and _waking up the damn mochi_ , he gives up. That's it, he's not getting any more shut-eye tonight.

He throws the cover off himself and pads to the bathroom. Maybe _that_ would help (it wouldn't, Makoto corrects himself mentally) with his insomnia.

No luck.

He comes back out again and changes into outdoor cloth. If he can't sleep, then he's going to find himself a few (dozen) cans of instant coffee and drowns himself in caffeine until he crashes. Yes, that's the plan, and yes, he's done it before.

The early morning air is cool and comfortable; not freezing, and not too warm. He looks up at the night sky and takes in the sight – with all the shitstorm they've been facing, a quiet night and a moment to contemplate like this is… nice.

He walks towards the nearest vending machine, which is almost ten minutes away, hands in his pockets and music in his ears. He snugs the Evoker closer to his side every time he walks pass someone or something that looks like a Shadow. He still can't get rid of the reflex months upon months of fighting in the Dark Hour did to him.

Makoto realizes he's a bit… _jittery_ without Ryoji around. That's not entirely a surprise, but still, it irks him to no end. He sighs to himself and just tries his hardest to ignore his uneasiness.

He punches the vending machine, and cans after cans of coffee come rolling down. When he picks them up and shoves them into his backpack, he sees an elderly man watching him.

"…Can I help you?" He asks tentatively.

"Oh! Was I staring?" He says. "My apologies. You look like someone I know."

"M'kay," He mumbles and yawns, popping a can into his hand and take a nice, long sip. He is about to head back when he feels an odd compulsion to talk to the man. He looks like he _needs_ a talk. Makoto scratches his head as he resigns to his instinct and walks over to the elder, sitting on a bench nearby. "…May I sit?"

"Hm? Oh, certainly!" The old man laughs, taking his walking cane off the seat. "You woke up early, for someone your age."

"Not that I intended to," He grumbles, taking another sip and turns the volume down a little. "Why are you out here this early in the morning?"

"Waiting for someone," The man says. "It might take longer than planned, so your company is welcomed, my boy."

"I got nothing better to do, anyway," He says, crossing his legs and taking another sip.

"So," The old man decides to start the conversation, thankfully. "I believe I haven't introduced myself yet. Hajime Genji. A pleasure."

He holds up his left hand, which Makoto thinks is slightly odd. He shakes his head and takes it with his own left, and notes mentally that the old man's grip is quite strong. "Yuuki Makoto."

"A good name," Hajime comments with a small smile. He then looks up at the moon. "The wind feels nice today, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess," Makoto murmurs, finishing one can. He tosses it deftly into the bin and starts on the second one right away.

"It's been quite a while since I've had the chance to enjoy things," The old man laughs. "My old house got its door barred a few years back by some buffoons, and it's been… a bit hectic ever since."

"Sorry about that," Makoto says awkwardly. He feels like this man is as random and spontaneous as one can be, maybe a bit less that a certain Appriser.

The man shakes his head. "It's alright. I get to be here now, so I don't really mind much."

Makoto hums.

After a short pause, the man turns to him. "Say, do you have a brother or a sister?"

 _I don't_ was about to be his response. But then Ryoji would be left out. He inwardly snorts to himself before nodding. "Yes. A… brother. Sorta."

"What's he like?"

"Annoying at times, but… he's a nice guy to be around." He can't help but say the first part. Ryoji _is_ annoying sometimes, especially with his ungodly hour of an alarm. He hates waking up at fucking _4!_

"I see, that's good," He laughs. "My sister is just aloof most of the time, and my brothers are nowhere to be seen, except one. But they're family, and I love them. Cherish your family well, my boy."

Makoto smiles slightly and nods. "'Course I will."

"Good, good," Hajime chuckles. Then he looks up, "Ah, speak of the devil!"

Makoto follows the man's eyes to see a man, maybe no more than a few years older than Hajime, walking out of an apartment. Hajime gets up and bows at him.

"I must be going now. Maybe if we get a chance, we could talk again, Yuuki-kun."

"Sure," He says, standing up and bowing at the older man as well. "Good morning, Hajime-san."

The man leaves with the other male, probably his brother, in tow, and Makoto's eyes follow them.

The old man is weird, but he's nice.

Still, there's a strange gut feeling that Makoto can't quite shake off…

He ignores it and heads back to his room. Maybe a nice warm bath and a few cans of coffee will knock him out this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New social link because old one ain't complicated enough, apparently :/
> 
> Anyways, see you guys in two more weeks :D
> 
> And... I will apologize in advance, the story will pick up it's pace quite a distance away from this one. Just... enjoy the shenanigans until then? I guess? :D


	11. Piecing the Puzzles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks of nothing, and school starts
> 
> The wheels are starting to move, the names falling into places, the time stopping from its usual continuous flow as the clock strikes midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here! Sorry about last week, exam came up and I haven't got the time to edit this. Still haven't, but here you go, I guess?
> 
> Don't let me keep you!

**_Chapter Eleven: Piecing the Puzzles_ **

**_April 11th, 2017_ **

Makoto hates school.

Correction; Makoto hates _waking up_ to school.

Two weeks after that Dark Hour, and just… _nothing._ Not a single flash of green. Just complete and utter silence, except for a few people wandering around aimlessly (and, truth be told, maybe a bit inattentively) around their neighborhood. The only normal person Makoto had seen and had a few chats with is the strange old coot named Hajime, who somehow seems to want to befriend him. Even the so-called Metaverse and the subway are eerily quiet. Ryoji can't sense a damn thing, so it's like they're back to square one.

Which is why he has a faint hope that maybe the Dark Hour will begin again today.

"Makoto, you're spacing out," Ryoji says with a chuckle, chewing absently on a Snickers. The taller boy still wears his usual scarf and the same shirt, albeit with the school blazer on top.

"You're breaking the dress code," He comments.

"Not like you aren't," Ryoji shoots back quickly and looks him up and down. Makoto really hates the school's turtleneck shirt, so instead of that, he wears a shirt. He really misses Gekkoukan uniform, especially the bowtie.

And neither of them wears the checkered pants. It's just not their thing.

"Who cares," He mumbles and stretches. "Fuck, I wanna sleep."

"You've been saying that all the time for the past month," Ryoji says, using his shoulder as an arm rest again. Makoto's too damn tired to shrug him off.

"Because _someone_ kept me up all night and then woke me up in the early morning," He growls back.

"Sorry?"

"You're not even apologetic, Ryoji," He says.

"Hey there, Yuuki! Mochizuki!"

They turn to the voice to see Takamaki running up to them. She smiles and exchanges a few pleasantries mostly with Ryoji (because Makoto just doesn't _care_ at the moment) before the taller boy whistles. "Now look at you. You look mighty fine, Takamaki-san."

"Oh shut up," She retorts, hitting Ryoji's arm lightly. She then turns her attention to him. "You look sleepy, Yuuki. Not a morning person?"

"No," He says curtly, yawning once again. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd sleep through the first few hours of classes. And does he care? Of course not.

"Morning's nice," Takamaki says, putting her arms above her head. "Not too hot, and not too cold."

"I just wanna sleep until noon or something," He mutters under his breath. "I guess I just gotta sleep earlier."

"Or maybe drink a few more cans of coffee," Ryoji says, handing him a cool canister. He blinks lazily before taking it and takes a few sips.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Question," Takamaki asks, and when he nods, she continues. "How much do you usually drink?"

"A few," He replies, not really feeling like talking much. Luckily, Ryoji steps in.

"Three to five cans a day. He's not even fazed by a dozen anymore," The taller boy laughs and puts his arm, this time, on his _head_. Makoto tries to swat him off, to no avail. "And don't try to copy him, Takamaki. I tried. I thought I was going to _die_."

"I'm not brave enough anyways," She says with a grin. She then looks towards the school gate and waves at the two other Makoto recognized as Amamiya and Sakamoto. "Hey guys!"

"Mornin', Takamaki. And the Terror Twins, too," Amamiya says, and the name stops him dead.

"Terror— _what?_ " He repeats after almost spitting out his drink.

"Terror Twins," Amamiya repeats, something akin to a smirk on his face. "Rumors fly fast here, you know. Some people saw you at the gym duking it out, and since your voices are so similar and you go everywhere together all the time… people start giving you names."

"Are you serious?" Makoto deadpans. They haven't officially started the semester yet and they're already getting named?

"Yes."

"For the love of—"

"That's pretty cool, innit?" Ryoji butts in, slinging his arm fully around his shoulders and pushing Makoto slightly downward. He tries to protest, but to no avail. "We're now twins. Nice."

He sighs. "Fine, what the fuck ever. That name's going to stick, isn't it?"

"It kind of already did," Amamiya says with a grin. Makoto stops himself from planting his face into the nearest surface. Whatever look he's having must be _really_ funny, because Amamiya laughs. "Come on, I think the name's perfect for you two. You think almost the exact same things, saying almost the same words _every time_ , and you're never seen apart from one another."

"Right? I think this name's cool!" Ryoji agrees with a chuckle.

"Fuck my life." Makoto groans.

"It's kinda already fucked once before by Nyx, though?" Ryoji comments under his breath. Makoto gives him a side-way stink-eye, and the taller boy promptly ignores him.

"Which class are you two in, by the way?" Amamiya asks as they continue their walk. Makoto notices a few groups of students whispering amongst themselves while looking at them. Rumor lovers are everywhere, huh.

"3-D," He replies, looking at the papers. "Yep. 3-D."

"Same class as we three, then!" Sakamoto says. "Nice!"

"This year's turning quite lively already," Takamaki giggles. "We'll be in your care, Terror Twins."

He groans at the nickname, but he quickly tries to make peace with that. Although, being called the Terror Twins with Ryoji from now on… is not that bad of a deal, when he thinks about it. Makoto chuckles to himself before he looks up. "We'll be in your care as well, Takamaki, Amamiya, Sakamoto."

* * *

"Two weeks and he returned empty-handed, huh?"

Takamaki comments after she takes a peek at his phone. Ren nods and put the device down, brows furrowed and deep in thoughts. The three that went to Tatsumi Port Island find nothing that would be of use. The old facilities Kujikawa had mentioned are all but destroyed and the local officers didn't really comply with any of their requests, so they're back to _almost_ square one.

The one thing they managed to salvage was the name of the sponsor of whatever happened there, and it's a very powerful family name Ren's heard multiple times before, not to mention the name that _built_ the entirety of Tatsumi Port Island on their own, too.

The Kirijou Group.

He frowns; no one really knows what the group really does. They're known as a multinational trading company that has too many contacts and too many strings. In the last year, the name did come up a few times, but they weren't really into any dirty political plays. With the new Mementos, where keywords weren't even needed anymore, they couldn't find anything. Just as expected.

But that name… maybe he should try to look into it.

As quickly as the thought came up, he messages Futaba.

**_Futaba, care to look up something for me?_ **

  
As always, the reply is quick.

_Sure! Kirijou Group, right? Akechi did mention that._

_I and Mona are looking into it right now. Let's talk when you get back._

She's taken the initiative already. He nods to himself at put his phone away for good, this time. The chair beside his seat moves, and he turns to see that Yuuki has taken that spot for himself. He turns to look around and see that Mochizuki is directly behind the boy, while Ryuji is directly behind him.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the front for the introductions?" Ren asks.

Yuuki groans and slams his head into the table, while Mochizuki just laughs at his friend's suffering. The boy puts up a finger before looking up, "I totally forgot that part. Right."

He stands up, dragging the still snicking Mochizuki with him. They walk towards the door and exit, presumable to meet with their homeroom teacher.

Ren's checked. It's Kawakami. Looks like homeroom teachers are swapped, somehow.

He won't complain, though.

"After almost a month, I can confidently say that Yuuki's an awkwardly funny guy," Takamaki says from the side, her cheek in her hand. "Much like when you first came here, Amamiya."

"Really?" He raises an eyebrow. "Was I that awkward?"

"Definitely." Takamaki shrugs. She then pauses for a bit, deep in thought, then adds. "Maybe less. A bit. Hm, or a lot?"

Ren rolls his eyes.

When the bell rings, Yuuki and Mochizuki follows Kawakami with the former wearing an expression that's a mix of annoyance and just plain sleepiness. They quickly scribble their names onto the board (Yuuki has a pretty neat handwriting, huh) and introduce themselves with a bow before going over to their seats.

"Now then!" Kawakami claps her hands together, calling for the attentions of the class. "First day, same things for you; I'll inform you of the ground rules, yada yada, and then introductions to all your classes in later periods."

"So even teach's bored by all the formalities," Yuuki mutters, already half asleep. He yawns and rests his cheek on his knuckle, waving at Amamiya. "See ya later."

Wait… what!?

Yuuki's fallen asleep, just like that!?

Mochizuki waves for his attention. When he turns, the boy just grins and nods at Yuuki. "He's always like that, don't worry. Leave 'im be."

…He's so not going to have fun in Ushimaru's class.

.

Ren has to wonder _how_ Yuuki always gets the answers right. Or by extension, knows _when_ to answer at all, seeing that he's always sleeping.

He shoots a questioning look at Mochizuki, who promptly says _I don't know either_ , even though he _also_ manages to know when and what to reply when he doesn't pay attention. Like, at all. The guy just keeps himself busy on his phone and a small book he brought with him.

What a pair of total weirdos.

When the bell rings and the class rise, Yuuki stands up, too, although a bit wobbly. He yawns and looks at his wristwatch, then at Mochizuki. They exchange a look before shrugging at the same time. The scarfed boy is the one who turns to him. "So where do you buy your lunch?"

"Right, you're still new. This way."

He and his two friends lead them towards the cafeteria, where there's a lot of people crowding in front of the shops. Ren just groans — he forgot about this whole thing, too.

"What d'you want, Makoto?" Mochizuki asks, rummaging through his wallet and pulling out a few notes and a few coins.

"Hotdog would be nice," He yawns again, sounding disinterested. "And black coffee."

"Got it," The boy says, then turns to the trio. "I'll buy your lunches for you. What do you want?"

"You sure you're okay waiting in lines alone?" Ren asks. Even looking at the long lines is painful. He glances at Takamaki and Ryuji, who share his pain.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," The boy gives him a cheeky grin. "Come on, what do you all want?"

After a bit of hesitation, they sigh collectively before pointing out what they'd like for lunch. They knew the chance of Mochizuki getting all of that during the rush hour is almost impossible, but the boy insists he can do it just fine.

After he left, they find themselves a table and sit together, with the trio talking and playing like usual, while Yuuki just looks at them.

"Wanna join the conversation, dude?" Ryuji asks, amused.

"I'm fine," He says. "I'm not going to do any talking until I get my caffeine."

"Are you addicted?" Ren asks.

"I think so?" He mutters, yawning loudly again. "Yeah. I think so."

He snorts.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Mochizuki says quite happily as he approaches, an armful of their requested food in his arms. He places the coffee in front of Yuuki as he hands them their food. Ren blinks, incredulous.

"How do you manage to get all of this and _so fast_?" Takamaki voices his own thought. Even with all the Thieves' training, he still can't do this!

"I'm a natural, of course!" He replies, smiling radiantly. The boy nudges Yuuki, who promptly scoots over and starts sipping the coffee before him, another hand holding the smoking hotdog.

"I appointed you our lunch buyer from now on!" Takamaki exclaims, pointing at the scarfed boy. "You are good at this!"

"Gotcha. Leave it to me, then!"

Ren laughs.

Looks like this school year's going to be very interesting.

* * *

"Who're you meeting again? Takeba Yukari, as in Takeba-san who plays the pink _Neo Featherman_?"

" _Pink Argus_ , Senpai," Rise corrects him, stirring the latte in front of her. He's sitting right beside her, and he's not even sure why he's here. As if she reads his mind, she continues, "This is an unofficial meeting. I wanna thank her for her help the other day."

"Help? With what?"

"I asked her a couple weeks back for a favor, since Inoue-san said he wanted to talk to her directly. And I gotta do it, cuz he's already done a lot to keep me in Tokyo," She explains, then lifts the cup to her lips. After a long sip, she says. "And I want you here because having you near me feels nice."

Yu smiles. "Love you too, Rise."

She hits his arm, face beet red. He laughs.

They spend some time chatting idly, purposefully avoiding the topic of the Metaverse and the Dark Hour, because they've had that discussion once, and it's too tiresome for a day like this.

After about an hour, they spot a woman coming in, brown hair slightly disheveled. She scans the restaurant and, after spotting Rise, walks over. Yu gives her a small bow as she sits down, hand absently patting at her hair.

"Sorry for coming in late, I got… a bit caught up in some stuffs," She says, an apologetic smile on her face. When she sees him, she pauses, eyes slightly squinted. "…Have we met before?"

"I don't believe so," Yu says, bowing slightly. "Narukami Yu."

"Nice meeting you," She says with a small smile. "I'm Takeba Yukari."

"Thanks again for the other day, Takeba-senpai," Rise says, leaning over slightly. "Inoue-san would have been in some trouble if you haven't agreed to meet up with him."

"It's no problem, really," She chuckles, then alternate her eyes between the two of them. "Are you two perhaps…?"

"A couple?" Yu offers. "Yes."

Rise blushes and hits his arm again, mumbling something under her breath. Takeba smiles at them, sipping on the glass of water. "You look cute together."

"Thanks," Yu says with a grin, one arm slinging over Rise's shoulder and hugging her a little closer. Much to her chagrin, she blushes _even_ harder.

"Anyways, what did you guys order?" Takeba asks, looking at the menu and changing pages after pages. "All of these sweets look nice."

"I got you these!" Rise says happily, and Yu pulls his arm away to let her have a girl talk with Takeba.

The thing about the Dark Hour can wait.

.

The whole experience is quite refreshing, if Yu's going to be honest.

Takeba is passionate in her work, and she's quite considerate, too. Even though Yu feels alright being left out, she made sure he's included in some of their conversations. The whole dinner turned into a delightful outing, and he totally forgets about their ordeals during that time.

After they're finished, they walk out of the restaurant, refreshed. The night air breezes lightly, and he closes his eyes, letting the wind caress his face for a bit.

Takeba smiles at them as she stretches slightly. "That was a nice outing. We should do this more often sometimes, Rise-chan. Narukami-kun."

"Sure!" His girlfriend agrees, hugging his arm as she does. "Take care, Takeba-senpai! And see you around!"

"See ya!"

Once she's out of sight, Rise turns to him with a smile. "So?"

"So… what?" he says, tilting his head to the side. The mischievous grin on her face doesn't help. Then it dawns on him—she wants to go _sweets shopping_. "Rise, I've got morning class tomorrow—"

"It'll be _fine_ ," She says, hugging his arm harder. "Come on. It's been a while! I wanna eat cakes!"

"Rise, wait, I—" His words die in his throat when she throws him a puppy eye. _Goddamnit_ , "Look, let's go another time, okay? This class is like, 6 in the morning, and it's already 11 pm! There's no shop that'd open at _this time._ "

"But I know a few dozens that do!" She pouts. "Come _onnnnn_."

"Okay, fine—" He gives in.

But before they are able to do anything else, his phone ring. It's a strange number.

He frowns, and looks at Rise, who instantly takes the hint and nods.

He picks up and mutters an unsure, "Hello?"

" _Hey there, Hero-kun,_ " Comes the all too familiar voice. Yu freezes in his track. Rise notices this and looks at him in concern. He doesn't respond to her. He isn't sure _what_ to even say or what kind of expression he should be having.

"Adachi-san?" He says, voice low. "How—"

" _Remember that call about the strange greenish world, and that Dark Hour thing at a later time?_ " He asks. When Yu hums, Adachi continues. " _Turns out someone must've been keeping tabs on you. I suddenly got a special request from a certain someone to be released._ "

"You… _what_?"

" _I got a temporary release. To help 'solve some mysteries', as the wardens called it,_ " He says. Yu could hear a grin on the man's face, and he shivers at the mere thought of it.

"That makes no sense. You're convicted and sentenced for murders, you shouldn't even be released; at least not _this_ soon," Yu says flatly. Rise's eyes widen in alarm, but he stops her.

" _I know. It shocks me too, you know,_ " Adachi says, his voice suddenly serious. Yu narrows his eyes as the other continues. " _I can't say much, since that someone wants to talk to you on their own terms. But I think they might be your ally_."

" _Might_ being the word," Yu responds.

" _True,_ " Adachi chuckles. " _Well… I guess I'll see you around, Yu-kun_."

And then the line is cut.

Yu stares at his phone for a long, long time.

"What. The. Hell?"

* * *

"You still haven't told me why I'm here yet, you know."

Adachi says, arms crossed, as he leans against the leather seat of the limousine. Mitsuru doesn't answer right away, instead pulling out her Evoker. Unlike most people, this Adachi doesn't flinch. He just looks with a bit of curiosity, and a bit of boredom.

"I only pulled you out for your own safety," She finally says, putting the Evoker back to the holster on her leg. Aigis tenses a little as the man moves, but Mitsuru stops her.

"Safety? From what, Shadows?" Adachi says, a playful smile on his lips. He leans back again, one leg crossing over the other. He rests his elbow on his knee, and his smile turns sly. "You afraid I'm gonna die in there or what? That's pretty pointless, you know."

"Every Persona User is valuable, no matter their backgrounds," Mitsuru states, eyes not leaving the man. He doesn't seem to care much, so she continues. "Besides, if the Dark Hour happens again – or rather, _when_ it happens again – you'll be attacked, because you can use a Persona. One person against many Shadows isn't exactly a welcoming idea."

"I don't really care either way," The man shrugs. "But hey, I'm outta that stinking prison for a bit, so yay for me, right?"

Aigis looks annoyed, which is rare. But Mitsuru understands; he _kind of_ sounds like _him_ , but on a totally opposite side of the spectrum. He's aloof, and dismissive. It's the darkest copy of their Leader, or something close to that.

"On two conditions," She says with a sigh. "You'll be under our watch, for one, since if you escape, all falls to me."

"Understandable," The man says with a shrug. "What's the other one?"

"You help us investigate this Dark Hour."

"Go figures," He says, throwing up his hands slightly. He then starts playing with the Evoker she decides to give him, but if those from Inaba don't need it, then she doubts he will. "I'm just surprised you'd let me call Yu-kun. Ain't you guys keen on keepin' this on the down low?"

"We keep it a secret only because we're uncertain on some details, especially before the Dark Hour appeared… And we'll come out when we get all of that sorted," Mitsuru says truthfully. "And we keep it this way… because a mysterious person contacting them would goad them to act, and it paid off; they did have a way to investigate the strange occurrences we detected; sudden rise of Shadows in certain area, or spikes in energy."

Adachi then grins, seemingly having figured it out from her words. Mitsuru mentally notes that this man is still a detective, even imprisoned. "And when this Dark Hour thing appeared, you need to work with them, too, because apparently, no one else have ever experienced it before, and their means of investigations alone won't be enough anymore."

"That is one aspect of it."

"There's still one more?"

"Because the Dark Hour is tied to a certain God… a God we can never forgive," She says, her voice hard and cold. The God of Death, Nyx… the cruel, uncaring god that took much from all of them, even if it's not malevolent on its own. "I will _not_ let another soul die because of the Dark Hour if I can help it."

"So _noble_ ," Adachi says, suddenly disinterested. He sighs, a bit too expressively. "Well, whatever, I don't really care either way. I'll help you with whatever this is… as long as it interests me."

"Of course," Mitsuru nods.

She doesn't like working with a murderer; he reminds her of Takaya, of Strega.

But even if he's evil, she just can't let another person perished inside the Dark Hour ever again.

* * *

Two minutes until midnight.

Makoto explores every nooks and crannies of the Evoker in his hand, eyes closed. He's gotten used to the feeling by now, the only part of the gun that bothers him is the black trigger. He doesn't mind the color, but it just seems a bit out of place.

He opens his eyes after a while and looks out the window, full moon decorating the sky, its soft, radiant light illuminating their surroundings. He doesn't like the full moon, having associated it with all kind of fuckfest during his time at the SEES, which is a bit too much for his stomach to handle at times. He sighs and slumps back onto the bed, waiting, watching.

Whether he gets to sleep or not will come down to what happen next.

"One minute," Ryoji says, his eyes on the clock.

"Yeah," Makoto murmurs. "I somehow wish it _is_ the Dark Hour, just so we would have something to work with again."

"Huh. So I'm not the only one," Ryoji says, putting down the book he's been reading. "Mitsuru-san and the former SEES should be onto this by now, I'd say."

"True," He nods. "That doesn't mean I wanna meet them again."

"Why?"

He pauses, weighing the words on his tongue. His frown deepens. "I… miss them. I miss all of them, but I'm afraid of losing them, or... I dunno, I just—"

His breath catches in his throat. He isn't sure what he's thinking. He misses them, dearly so, but a part of him is screaming at him not to get close. They've already moved on, from the past, from _him_. He shouldn't meet them and let them live their own lives while he lives his.

But it feels… hollowing. He feels incomplete, and empty.

"I get it," Ryoji says after looking at his expression, a melancholic smile on his face. He must've at least guessed what he was thinking. "It's okay, Makoto. We'll decide what to do with that later."

"…Thanks."

"You're welcome. And hey, one question?"

"Mm?" He hums.

The clock ticks to midnight, and he could feel adrenaline rushing through him as the sky turns green, and the people he'd seen on the streets before had turned into coffins. He turns to Ryoji, who continues with his inquiry while getting up. "Would the Dark Hour be the first or the last hour of the day?"

"Since it's start at exactly midnight… first? I guess?" He replies, a bit unsure. "Why?"

"Then today's the 12th, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

There's a grin on the other's face as he leans down a little to look at Makoto closely.

"Happy 18th birthday, Makoto."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I both love and hate writing fights, so... next chapter's probably going to be a mess I guess? Eh, whatever.
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed this one, and see you next time!


	12. Blood Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Amarok!"
> 
> He pulls the trigger, and instead of blinding pain and burning sensation, he feels the kind of rush he had never felt before. His grins widen as he feels his inner beast manifests behind him, towering, growling. In one swift motion, the Shadow's reaching arm is severed, follows by a haughty roar that could shatter someone's ears.
> 
> Amarok, with its towering, half-man half-wolf form, stands before him, clawed hands outstretched as it let out another howl. Its whole body seems to be made of metal, with its arms, legs and heads clad in black metallic fur. Each fibers of its muscles are steel, silver with luster that makes its body shines in the bloody moonlight.
> 
> It turns it black, armored head to them, its eyes bright blue. A voice echoes in his mind.
> 
> 'I am Amarok, the Great Wolf. My fangs and claws are yours to command!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just posted another chapter on another story and another oneshot like, two days ago? And here we are I guess lmao.
> 
> Sorry for the lateness! New Year's been... fun. I got stuck working until the end of days ;_;
> 
> But don't let me keep you! Here you go!

**_Chapter Twelve: Blood Moon_ **

"…So, my birthday starts with a Dark Hour. Should I really be _happy_ about this?"

"I mean, why not?" Ryoji says, hands behind his head, like usual. His posture betrays the fact that he just single-handedly killed a few dozen Shadows with a finger snap (what was it called in that meme again? _Thanos snap_ or something?). "We got something to work with and all, not to mention that you get to try out that sword."

Makoto looks down at the blade in his hand, well-crafted, not too heavy, not too light. The shop they stumbled upon, _Untouchable Airsoft_ , really is a gem trove. It did take a bit of convincing to get the shop owner to really give them the catalogues, though.

"Well, that's true. But there's school tomorrow."

" _Today_ ," Ryoji corrects him with a grin. "And it's not like you're going to be awake in classes anyways."

"…Tch," He clicks his tongue, knowing full well that _yes_ , Ryoji is right. He's not planning on staying awake in classes he already has studied… so that really hit the nail in the head. "That's just rude."

"But it's true."

"Not like you're doing better. You didn't pay any attention yesterday," He comments, adjusting his holster a bit before hooking his thumb on the belt. This thing doesn't feel like the ones SEES handed out, but it'll have to do. "Have you finished that book yet? What was it, _Metamorphosis?_ "

"Yep," He confirms. "Kafka's _Metamorphosis_. It's been a while since I've read any English –"

" _Anything at all_ , rather –"

"– so that takes a bit of time. Maybe today I'll manage two more."

"I just wanna play some MMOs," Makoto laments with a sigh. The old MMOs he knows, to no one's surprise, are all closed. He wonders if anything's going to catch his eyes, or if he's going to have the _time_ to play at all. "What the _fuck_ ever, I'll just stick with sleeping and MMAs instead, then."

"Speaking of MMAs," Ryoji begins with a smirk. Oh shit, Makoto knows where this is going.

"Don't even begin _saying_ that name –"

"I wonder why we're called _Terror Twins?_ "

"God-fucking-damnit," He groans. He tries to get used to it, but one day isn't going to be enough, and he doubts that a few more days (or months) is going to make a difference. He just rolls his eyes, thinking back to their spar sessions.

…He then winces.

"Maybe because we literally tore apart a few of their sand bags?" Makoto says. "That's probably it."

"With how hard you tried to kick me, I'm not surprised," Ryoji replies, shrugging.

"Only because _you_ ask me to."

"But you're the one who's _really_ eager about it."

Right, he's not going to win this debate. Makoto just lets out a huff before suddenly stopping as his eyes catch the anomaly in the sky, causing Ryoji to almost collide into him. The taller boy is about to protest, but Makoto just points upward.

"Did the moon look like that last time?"

The sky's the same color, except for the moon. Instead of yellow-green tint, it's _blood red_ , shining ominously above their heads. He tilts his head to the side and crosses his arms.

Ryoji does the exact same thing he did. He hums, thinking. "I… haven't really looked. Last time we just kinda try our hardest to kick that Reaper back to where it came from."

"Tonight's full moon, too," He comments at the state of the moon. Full moon is something Makoto has already associated with some shits going down, some large shadows appearing, or both. This Dark Hour being different than the one years ago doesn't mean it won't have things in common. It still _is_ the Dark Hour, after all. "That's not eerie at all."

"You really need to tone down your sarcasm, Makoto," Ryoji comments with a small chuckle. But his smile vanishes as soon as it comes. "But yeah… this looks like a prelude to something bad."

"So, where's our destination?" He asks. The Shadows are… not many, and they haven't been attacked since Ryoji wiped those first batch off the face of the earth, so at least they can proceed a bit faster than they had first planned

"I think… that way," He points. "I sense something like a… it's not a large Shadow, but a congregation of many? Way too many for comfort for me."

"Then that's where we'll check first," Makoto mutters. "I hope this night's not gonna be tiring."

.

He really shouldn't have jinxed anything. As if the first two times isn't enough of an indication.

That's it, everything Makoto said he hoped wouldn't happen, _happened anyways_.

For fuck's sake.

"Makoto, why're you mad?" Ryoji asks as he drops from the large Shadow that he had just _ripped its face off_ (that's just gross) and lands before him. Makoto blindly stabs the Shadow behind him and just waves his sword around.

"Because apparently, everything I said got _jinxed_ to hell and back," He growls, panting slightly. He hadn't really used Ifrit yet (no need to, and doesn't _want_ to) and all the swinging and dodging are tiring him out quicker than comfort.

"Then can you just say that you hope we got ambushed or something?" Ryoji says. "Maybe then we wouldn't, if your jinxing curse is strong enough."

"Right," He nods. That might work. "I hope we get ambushed."

As soon as he said that, there were more Shadows jumping out from the buildings. Makoto just stares at them, mouth agape, while Ryoji starts laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow, you sure can curse everything to your disadvantage, Makoto!"

" _Shut up_."

* * *

The moon's color is as ominous as it can get.

And Ren doesn't like it.

"I just realized that the air's surprisingly chilly here," Someone says from behind him. Ren turns to see Narukami walking out of Leblanc, hands rubbing his arms slightly. Ren just nods as his gaze turns back to the blood moon. "What's that?"

"I don't know, but Oracle's looking into it," He replies. While Kujikawa's ability is unrivaled in terms of combat analysis, environmental analysis _is_ Oracle's specialty. _Al Azif_ proves to be quite useful in terms of scanning and surveying the surroundings. "She said it might take a while, so you could rest, for now."

"I could say the same to you," The older man points out. "But I understand. As a leader and all that… you feel responsible."

"You can say that again," Ren murmurs with a deep sigh. "Well, at least the Shadows aren't as aggressive this time around. If a Reaper comes up my stairs like last time, I'm going to be so, _so_ pissed."

Narukami laughs slightly at that. "I bet."

"Oh yeah, one thing I haven't mentioned before," Ren says before Narukami could turn back to the café, causing the older man to stop in his tract. "After some digging, coupled with your Adachi Tohru being released, we got ourselves a name."

"Oh?" Narukami hums. "Who is it?"

"Kirijou Mitsuru, current head of the Kirijou Group," He says. After Oracle dug around the internet, the deep web, through some secured network at a national level, and a few other places, she finally made the connection.

The money, as it turned out, came from one of the many accounts that belonged to a person who worked at that group. And with Narukami's story of a certain murderer being released on parole, even though his sentenced had only begun a few years prior, Oracle had managed to weasel herself into the police reports and found the name.

"Ah. I don't know her personally, but I've heard that name," He says, crossing his arms and looking up at the sky. "She's this Artemisia then, I'd presume?"

"Most likely," Ren nods. "And that means she's a Persona User."

"Can she be trusted?"

"I don't know," He replies truthfully. Of course, he doesn't know; sending them guns and money and nothing else is kind of a dick move, if Ren had a say in it. But at the same time, her warnings make them act, and make them realize that something's wrong earlier than if she hadn't. "We'll have to see."

"I guess so."

"What are you two brooding over about?"

Crow walks up from behind them and stands a bit away from Ren, his eyes following theirs until he sees the orb in the sky. Ren just shrugs. "About Kirijou Mitsuru."

"Ah, of course," He sniffs. "That can wait. What about the moon?"

"Let Oracle handle it, Crow. Don't be so pushy," He says flatly. Whenever Crow's in his black mask, he's a _lot_ harder to handle. He means, he's glad Crow survives the Shido Palace shenanigans and all that (he still doesn't know _how_ , but hey, who cares), but this guy's attitude sometimes take a deep plunge, and it gives him _headaches_.

"She's slow," He just says. Ren is about to punch him when Narukami's hand is on his shoulder and pulling him back slightly. Crow's eyes turn to the older male. "Won't you agree, Narukami-san?"

"I get you, I really do," He says, putting up a hand and trying to pacify them. "She's working slowly, sure, but at least she can do that. Can _you_?"

Crow jolts slightly, as if shocked by lightning. Narukami can be brutally honest when he wants to, Ren notes mentally. He turns to Crow, who sighs again and groans. "…Fine, I can't. I get your point now."

"That's good," The older man says with a smile. Ren reminds himself to not trust that façade – he can be really scary when he wants to, and he's not eager to be on the receiving end of his ire anytime soon. "I think we should wait patiently and prepare ourselves for battle – that's the only things we can do right now."

"Yeah," Ren says. "Well, let's get back inside. While most of the appliances are not functioning, we still have some canned coffee stowed away in the cooler."

"Do you have black?" Crow and Narukami ask simultaneously.

He smiles. "We do."

.

After he checks with everyone, he finds himself alone at the furthest corner of the café. Everyone's on a bit of an edge to day, and it's not hard to imagine why.

Only the first day of school and it's already going to be hectic, huh.

"Can I sit here?"

He looks up to see Narukami again, this time with a can in his hand. He nods and the others slide into the seat opposite from him. He pops the cap and takes a few sips with a satisfied face.

"You look lost in thoughts, Joker," The older man says, pointing at him. "Wanna talk about it?"

"…Maybe," He admits. "If you talk about yours, too."

"Then it's a deal," Narukami says with a smile.

After the two take some more moments to enjoy their drinks and put the can down onto the table, Narukami is the first to speak up, his eyes glancing towards his peers.

"I'm worried," He says, brows furrowed slightly. "Unlike you, our schedules have a bit more freedom, a bit more wiggle room… but we thought the fighting days are behind us, you know. I dunno what the others think, but I myself am a bit… bothered by all of this."

"I know," Ren says. "I thought our fight is over, too."

"And this Dark Hour thing," He begins again. "After your first encounter with the suicidal man, I met a few people who just… walk around aimlessly. They didn't even bother to wipe their drools. I think this is the first time that I've seen the real world being affected this fast."

"I've noticed more and more of people like that, too, though not enough to be a public concern… just _yet_ ," He stresses the last word, hands tightening around the can. "I'm scared."

"Me too," Narukami whispers.

The records of the Apathy Syndrome and their findings point to the return of said disease, and the idea scares him. The idea that whatever is happening is causing people to have something similar to _mental shutdown_ is… horrifying. The threat this time is as real as last year, and definitely harder to fight against. They didn't even have _a_ solid clue.

"And we still have to find this Aeon-turned-Fool person," Narukami mutters. "But at least, with the name Kirijou Mitsuru, we might be able to contact this person sooner than we thought."

"You think he or she will give off the same vibe we do?" He asks. "If so, I can use Morgana to try and identify her."

"Maybe," He shrugs. "But… seriously? You're considering using your cat as a radar?"

"Yes, and he said he's not a cat," Ren says automatically. He pauses for a second before chuckling to himself. Narukami smiles. "But… yeah, I think that might be the only way, unless you think we'd fare better?"

"Well… actually, no, I don't think we will," The older man says, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Then once this thing's over, let's get to work with that."

"Yeah."

"Guys!" Oracle suddenly calls, drawing the attentions of the two Wild Cards. Ren stands up first and walks out of the café, looking up at the floating Al Azif.

"Did you find something?" He asks. As they've discussed before, only a few selected would be going to investigate, since larger group would be too cumbersome to move. He nods at his team as they come to join him.

"Yes!" She says. "A congregation of Shadows at a church two kilometers from here! And you need to hurry, there's already two signals of one strong Shadow and one of unknown origin heading that way!"

Two strong entities? He quickly exchanges a look with Narukami before the older man starts barking the order. "We're moving out! Try to save your Personas and use them only when necessary!"

"Let's go," He says to the older man, who nods firmly.

"We are going to get some answers this time, I'm sure."

"I hope so."

* * *

Makoto isn't sure if he should be feeling this or not.

But he's having _fun_.

"Makoto! Stop _grinning!_ " Ryoji yells at him, having reverted back to his human form because the church is a bit cramped and he just can't fly freely in there, especially not with this behemoth amalgamation of Shadows slamming its misshapen fists all over the place.

"I can't help it!" He says truthfully, ducking around a corner. Ifrit is no use, either. If he uses that _thing_ here, then they're roasted meat. He really doesn't know what Personas he can call — while his bonds seem to have really transcend time, just as Igor had said, his connections to all of his old Personas were severed.

No surprise there, really (since he was dead for what, seven years?), and it seems like Orpheus and Messiah and those whole bunch are now in another person's possession.

If he had to guess, it might be one of the SEES.

Who? He doesn't know.

But now he really, really, _really_ needs someone or something that could fight while being boxed in, and Ryoji's hands and his sword aren't going to be enough.

Although… to be frank, this is… fun, he guesses? The challenges of the fight itself is quite an experience. Running around and spitting insults at the Shadows to lure them to him, dodging and attacking, the adrenaline rushes — it feels _refreshing_. He doesn't dislike it, maybe even _enjoy_ it a little. Or maybe a lot.

That might be the wrong thing to feel, although he has to wonder why he's only started feeling it now.

But… he doesn't think that it is that bad a thing…?

"Behind you!"

He doesn't turn around, trusting Ryoji enough to duck away as soon as the words reach his ears. He then crawls (a bit hurriedly) out of the way as an arm composed with dozens of human-like Shadows slams into the ground, shattering the granite. He feels a chill crawling up his spine, as well as the adrenaline. He's feeling _wide awake_ right now, and he finds it _exhilarating_.

Huh. So, is this what Sanada calls adrenaline rush?

_I see you're enjoying the fight, little pup._

A voice calls to him, growling like a beast, haughty, yet kind. He doesn't turn around – he doesn't need to. He knows where this voice comes from. The only thing that surprises him is that it doesn't come with an earth-shattering headache, like when Ifrit first visits him.

He jumps over a fallen pillar and stabs the thing's arm. It rears back and roars, revealing a white mask under its supposed head. He squints – it looks unfamiliar to the any of the Greater Shadow's mask from his days in SEES. Something nags at him, and he lets his body does whatever it wants.

Before he knows it, he's already thrown his sword at the mask and grazes it, causing the amalgamation of Shadows to rear back and let out another pained bellow.

"What did you just do?" Ryoji asks when he reaches Makoto, shirt and hair a bit disorderly (it seems even the Nyx Avatar isn't immune to being exhausted and looking messy, Makoto muses) and he's panting like he's run a mile (or rather, a _long while_ ).

"I hit its mask," He says, pointing at wherever he just threw his sword at. Ryoji's eyes follow, and the other boy does a double take.

"There's a _mask_ under that blob of a head?"

"Yep. That surprised me, too," Makoto remarks, stretching his arms up above his head. "And I think I've found a way to get us out of this bind."

Ryoji looks at him questioningly. He just smiles slightly and puts a finger on his lips.

 _Joy in fighting, joy in killing… it's the nature of man and beast alike_.

They watch as the Shadow screeches and stumbles, crooked arms flailing without purpose. Makoto looks down at his Evoker and pulls it out of the holster, then take a good look at it before lifting it up and pointing it to his temple. Ryoji looks like he's about to protest, but stops upon seeing a look on Makoto's face.

He isn't sure what kind of face he's making right now, but he _thinks_ he's _grinning_.

_Being entertained while fighting and struggling is not such a bad thing in and of itself… it is but an inner beast, the hidden side of you, that you've never realized you have._

_You fight to protect others – a noble goal, an end worth fighting for… but what's wrong with a bit of fun while doing so?_

"There's nothing wrong, really," He says, puzzling Ryoji harder. But the other seems to actually notice something after a few more seconds, and then his shadow gives him a grin.

"That's right," Ryoji says with a huff of laughter. "Fighting is fun, sometimes. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the moment, even if something big is at stake. It's human nature – it's _our_ nature."

_Then, it's time to release your beastly instinct, pup._

He smiles and looks up at the Shadow, unflinching. The growl of the beast, rather than oppressing or terrifying, is quiet and calm. The growl turns into a howl, and the oath begins;

_I am Thou, Thou art I._

_There's no shame in the joy of fighting. No matter who you are, this is your primal instinct._

_Embrace it, reign it in, and use it for your own ends!_

_Call my name, and let the hunt begin!_

" _Amarok!_ "

He pulls the trigger, and instead of blinding pain and burning sensation, he feels the kind of rush he had never felt before. His grins widen as he feels his inner beast manifests behind him, towering, growling. In one swift motion, the Shadow's reaching arm is severed, follows by a haughty roar that could shatter someone's ears.

Amarok, with its towering, half-man half-wolf form, stands before him, clawed hands outstretched as it let out another howl. Its whole body seems to be made of metal, with its arms, legs and heads clad in black metallic fur. Each fibers of its muscles are steel, silver with luster that makes its body shines in the bloody moonlight.

It turns it black, armored head to them, its eyes bright blue. A voice echoes in his mind.

_I am Amarok, the Great Wolf. My fangs and claws are yours to command!_

"You ready, Ryoji?" He says, catching his blade as Amarok throws it to him with his tail. He points the blade forward as Ryoji throws his head back and lets out a laugh.

"Of course! Now that you have a new Persona, let's see how this is going to turn out!"

* * *

"…The Shadow is destroyed."

Aigis reports. She has arrived a bit too late to catch the two entities that seemed to have intercepted and destroyed the amalgamation of Shadows. Her optic sensors try to adjust themselves through the thick smoke, but nothing seems to work.

" _I see. Did you catch a glimpse of the other two?_ " Mitsuru says through the link.

"Positive," She responds. And from Juno's ability, she could discern where they were heading, as well. "Should I give chase, Mitsuru-san?"

" _No. They're too dangerous for you alone to handle,_ " The other immediately denies. " _For now, keep observing. Yamagishi said a small group of Persona Users are heading that way. Probably to investigate, just like us._ "

"Understood," Aigis confirms.

She keeps watch, thinking back to the _thing_ that had downed the goliath before it dissipates. It has a feeling all too familiar to her, but she doesn't know why. The wolf even looks up at her – it _saw_ her – before disappearing. And immediately after that, the two strange entities start running.

From her computing and analysis, she thinks her chance of winning against those two, whatever they are, are close to zero.

Even with her Wild Card abilities and _Messiah_ , her _chance_ of winning is _almost zero_.

This doesn't bold very well.

She then sees the group Mitsuru mentions. Two formally-dressed humans, one tall male with silver bowl-cut hair, and another with fawn-colored hair. She immediately identifies two of the four as _Narukami Yu_ and _Hanamura Yosuke_.

The two in strange outfits take a bit of time, but she manages to identify them as Amamiya Ren and Akechi Goro. She gives herself a mental note to bring this up to Mitsuru later, but for now she just observes them, adjusting her hearing range to cover whatever they are saying.

Her eyes then look up at the sky.

Only a moment after that, the moon turns yellow.

"Mitsuru-san, the moon changes color, from red to its normal Dark Hour one," She immediately reports while observing the party on the ground. They notice this change as well. "It might have been due to the death of the Shadow."

" _I see. Good work, Aigis. Observe them for a little more, and we'll discuss when to actually make contact with them later. Hopefully soon,_ " Mitsuru instructs.

"Understood."

Things are starting to get a bit out of hand, and Aigis doesn't like where the events are leading them to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introduction! Amarok: Inuit mythology, Greenland, a great wolf that hunts down any hunters foolish enough to stalk the woods by himself. Unlike wolves that hunt in packs, Amarok hunts alone.
> 
> To be honest, I feel like this chapter is a bit under my standard ._. but but but! I promise I'll try my best to get better for you folks!
> 
> I also have another longfic with a bit of a difference in terms of progression than this one in mind. Or rather, the first two chapters are already done with. I'll see when I posted that lmao, and hopefully I won't mix things up.
> 
> Take care, and see you again next time!


	13. Assembly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuru had intended to contact them first.
> 
> But… she miscalculated.
> 
> To think there's someone who's better at hacking than Yamagishi, and that person is a part of the Phantom Thieves, no less.
> 
> Sakura Futaba.
> 
> She just looks at the screen of her phone, brought up to the big monitor by Yamagishi. Yukari and Akihiko are here, too, much to her relief. Aigis is right beside her, as always.
> 
> She nods, and the call is picked up.
> 
> "Good afternoon, Kirijou Mitsuru-san,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY PLS FORGIVE ME T_T
> 
> So, anyways... here I am! Don't let me keep you!

**_Chapter Thirteen: Assembly_ **

The Dark Hour vanishes not long after the Amalgamation is destroyed.

"Looks like this time, the duration of the Dark Hour is tied to some kind of condition," Makoto says, yawning as he drops everything at the foot of the bed. He takes off his jacket and tosses it onto the chair then plops down onto the mattress. "How long was this one?"

"…One hour and twelve minutes," Ryoji says. "You think the Shadows' destruction is the _condition_ to stop the Dark Hour?"

"Why are you asking me?" He says with a scoff. His eyes then travel back to that black spot on the ceiling, a deep frown on his face. "We'll never know what it is until we actually have to fight a Shadow like that again."

"True," The other says with a hum. "…And, I have to say… Aigis looked super scary there."

Makoto shivers. While they're blessed with the cover of the smoke, they've had the chance to see the android hiding in a rather high and advantageous spot. It looks like Mitsuru and the others have already started moving.

"Yeah," He murmurs after a while. "And I think they'll make contact with Amamiya and the others soon, since I don't think keeping quiet about this would be beneficial any longer."

"Which means they might come by the school."

Makoto makes a face. "Which means… we're going to have to get outta school through any way _other than the front gate_. If they spot any of us, it's gonna be awkward as hell."

"Why?"

He turns to look at Ryoji at that word. Their eyes lock for a long, long time before Makoto tears his gaze away. Of course, he wants to see them. He _always_ wants to. But he just _can't_ , and that's the problem. There are no logics or reasons behind it, he just can't bring himself to.

"Makoto," Ryoji calls him and forces him to look at the other again. But Ryoji's gaze is not judging him, or condemning him or whatever he was expecting. Instead, he's smiling warmly. "I know how you feel. We can meet them _if_ you want to, but if you don't, then I'm okay with it."

"Even if it'll put us at a disadvantage?" He asks, his throat suddenly feels dry. Investigating all of this on their own is bound to be met by dead end, sooner or later. The sooner they reunite with the SEES, the better, but then again…

"Yeah," The taller boy says with a grin. "I'm always with you, Makoto. Don't worry."

_I'm always by your side, so lean on me, okay?_

Makoto remembers those words clearly, and he lets out a laugh. No matter how irrational his decisions are sometimes, Ryoji'd always stick by him. This guy is _priceless_ , and he'd do everything to make sure he's safe, and it seems the feeling's mutual.

After a while, he sits up and nods… before deciding to say another thing that bothers him. "You know, I've said this before, but you _really_ make me feel gay."

Ryoji splutters and coughs for a few solids seconds before he turns to Makoto, face beet red with embarrassment. "Makoto, _what!?_ "

He laughs. "It's true! But still, thanks… you can always get my head out of the funk, Ryoji."

The boy just smiles. "And you're always welcome. That's why I'm here."

"Gay."

"Am _not!_ "

* * *

Ren's still amazed.

Yuuki actually _survived_ sleeping through Ushimaru's class.

He means — what the heck? He never manages to pull that off at all!

"How did you do that?" Ren asks. Yuuki and Mochizuki is about to head out for their next class, which is _volleyball_ (at least they got a better, proper coach now). Upon a confused look from the shorter boy, he clarifies. "I mean, sleeping through Social Study?"

"Oh, that?" He says with a yawn. "Sorry, that's trade secret."

"Hey, come _on_ ," Ren almost begs. He wants to know, because that class is the most boring he's ever had in his entire life. It's even _more_ boring that last year's. "Spill some secrets for me, please?"

"I never knew you wanted to sleep through that class, man," Ryuji says from behind, a cheeky grin on his face. "You always seem to pay attentions today."

"You have _no idea_ ," Takamaki shares his sentiment, facepalming herself. "Ugh, I wish time would speed up in that class."

Mochizuki just laughs slightly. "Come on, guys. Was it really that bad?"

"Said the one who finished _a book_ during it," Takamaki says, and that makes the taller boy winces.

"Uh… I mean…"

"They got you," Yuuki says with another yawn before he puts his arms over his head in a stretch. "I'm serious, though. It's a trade secret because I don't know how I got away with it, either."

"I don't believe you," Ren mutters.

Yuuki snorts a laughter. "Come on, let's get to the gym already. I heard volleyball is a good sport for stress relief."

"The sport itself is, kinda," Takamaki says. She seems to be thinking about Kamoshida and Suzui, in particular. She frowns. "Not the coach, though. Not the previous one, at least."

"…Okay?" Yuuki says a but reluctantly, his eyes calculating. Ren feels a slight shiver, but he ignores it. Probably the wind. The boy looks at Takamaki for a while before he continues. "Sorry if that brings up bad memories."

"Don't apologize," She says with a relaxed grin. "Oh yeah! What club do you wanna join?"

Mochizuki answers in Yuuki's place. It has become a common occurrence, and they're used to it by now. Although how the boys communicate or read each other's mind like that is still a mystery to him. "We dunno yet, but maybe volleyball, who knows? At least he'll get to vent his frustrations on the balls."

"Gee, I _wonder_ where all of those pent-up _frustrations_ come from," Yuuki mutters.

"I wonder," Mochizuki says with a huff of laughter before he uses Yuuki's shoulder as his armrest, like he always does. Ren suspects that this might be why the shorter boy seems to always slouch his back a little. "Anyways, yeah. But it'd have been better if there is a Kendo club here. Is there?"

"Nope," Takamaki says. "What, you practiced Kendo?"

"He might look like this, but he _was_ a Kendo Club captain, you know?" Mochizuki says with a grin, and Ren spies Yuuki grumbling and _blushing_ a little.

"Really? That's awesome!" Ryuji exclaims. "That means you must be really good!"

"…Thanks," Is all Yuuki says.

Huh. The more he gets to know the Twins, the more they surprise him.

He wonders what kind of tricks they'll pull next.

.

Ren doesn't have to wait long for the next surprise.

As it turns out, despite being a newbie at volleyball, Yuuki has a really _mean_ , really _nasty_ spike serves.

Not a _jump_ serve. A _spike_ serve.

And Ryuji is the one who lucks out and has to be at the receiving end.

"Makoto, try not to break Sakamoto's arms, please?" Mochizuki says with a small laugh as Yuuki rotates up to the server spot. The coach is teaching them the basics (as if they hadn't learnt that during the last year already) and the Terror Twins have already made themselves known among their class that _no_ , you do _not_ want to be on the opposite side of the net from them. Ever.

And that is _before_ they get to the paired-up serve-and-receive routine.

"I'm _trying,_ " The boy says, bouncing the ball off the ground a few times.

"Yuuki," The coach calls as he casts his eyes towards Ryuji, who looks like he's about to cry (poor dude, Ren wishes him luck), then back at the boy. "…Tone down the serve a bit."

"Sir," He nods, takes exactly six steps back, then throws the ball into the air.

His approach, the way his body moves as his eyes focus on the ball, and the way he jumps — Ren has to admit that it's simply _beautiful_. Yuuki looks like a pro player (only downside is that he's _short_ ) (Pfft, don't look this way, dude), with little to no wasted movements, and as he arches his arm backwards, Ren feels like he could _see_ where the ball's going to go.

The ball gets slapped hard, and it hits the ground between Ryuji's feet. It bounces off and hits the high wall before dropping back down, leaving the whole gym in total silence.

Before there could be cheers or applauds, the coach turns to Yuuki. "Yuuki."

"Uh… sir?"

"Join the volleyball club."

Well, that's a first.

The class whispers in awe as the boy, who doesn't look exactly pleased but not really against the idea, steps away from the spot. Mochizuki comes up next. He then turns to the coach and, with a cheeky grin, says, "If I can serve like he does, do I get to play, too?"

" _If_ you can, then yes," The coach nods. "Yuuki, go dig his serve."

"Why _me,_ " He hears the boy mutters under his breath, but he dutifully jogs over to the other side. Once he is positioned, Ren is not surprised at all—

—to see the same nasty serve from the taller boy.

Unlike with Ryuji, Yuuki hustles under it and gets the ball up into the air, although the sound of the ball hitting his arms is going to give Ren _nightmares_.

"Ouch," Takamaki whispers from the side, rubbing her arm up and down. "That _sounds_ painful."

"You _think?_ " Ren quips back. To his surprise, Yuuki doesn't seem bothered by it… well, actually, he's a _bit_ bothered, since he's rubbing his forearm a little. "Ugh, I don't want to play with these two, like, _ever_."

"Amamiya!" The coach calls after he hands papers for the volleyball club to the two. Ren's not surprised at all after seeing their performances. He looks at the coach as the man points. "You're up next."

"Sir, yes sir."

.

"You hit the balls like you're angry _at_ them."

"You hit the balls like you're _angry_."

They two boys exchange some playful insults once they get to change in the locker room. They both laugh before Yuuki goes for the shower while Mochizuki stays back and dries his sweat-drenched hair. He turns to look at Ren before smiling. "So, how were we?"

"Splendid," Ren says. He wants to shower, too, but Yuuki just snatched the last available spot. "Are you two sure you're not some kind of volleyball prodigies?"

"We are not," He says with a bright smile. "But I personally find Makoto to be extremely talented in a lot of things… except art. He doesn't have the _slightest_ knack for art."

"That explains why he got the stink eye during art class, huh?" Ren says with a smile. He sits down on the same bench as the other boy as he plays with the button of his uniform.

"I'm doubtful you can call the monstrosity he created _art_ ," He remarks. "But hey, he compensates with other things. _Many_ other things."

"I think you two are similar in that regards," Ren says truthfully. "Except in art."

"Except that," Mochizuki parrots.

"So," Ren begins to ask, curious. "Are you two going to join the volleyball club?"

"Haven't decided yet, I dunno," The other says, rubbing the back of his neck. "We've got… plans for most days already, and the club has lots of required attendance, so it might get in the way… well, if we can negotiate to join practice a lot less than required, then maybe."

"…What kind of plans?" Ren asks. Well, they are third years now, so maybe they want to focus less on clubs and more on entrance exams?

"You know, exams and all that."

"Figures."

Ren thinks it's odd one'd call prepping for the entrance exams _plans_ , but he lets it slide.

Then Yuuki comes out, his hair damp and his cloth a little soaked from his shower. Mochizuki gets up and enters the stall as Yuuki takes his place, sitting down and ruffling his hair. He then gives Ren a look that could _kill_. "Why were you two _dissing_ me?"

Ren feigns being hurt. "I would _never_."

"I know you did," He scoffs. His expression then softens slightly. "Shujin's pretty nice."

"I know, right?" Ren smiles, punching the shorter boy's shoulder playfully.

Yuuki smiles ever so slightly in return.

.

He's surprised to see Narukami, Shirogane, _Akechi_ , and Futaba sitting together at Leblanc when he gets back.

"Uh… what's this?" He asks, unsure. They have no scheduled meetings today, right? Then—

"We're going to call Kirijou Mitsuru," Futaba says, as if that explains everything. Morgana pops out from under the table and hops into Narukami's lap.

"She managed to sneak into the network," Morgana explains, purring slightly. Akechi gives the not-cat a look, but is ignored completely. "There's lots of good securities in place, but nothing our _Alibaba_ couldn't handle!"

"You know, you scare me, Sakura," Narukami says. "Like… a lot. Hell, you hacked into the _police database._ In less than a minute."

"I'll take that compliment anytime!" She says, cracking her fingers.

Ren walks over and sits beside her, peering at the screen of complicated applications and codes that he's not going to even _try_ to comprehend. He sets his things down and catches Akechi looking at him strangely. Ren cringes. "…What?"

"…Nothing," Akechi says curtly and looks away.

Odd.

"Alright, here we are. You guys ready?" Futaba grins, a finger hovering over a button.

"Can't say I am, but let's do this," He says with a smirk of his own. "It's Showtime!"

* * *

Mitsuru had intended to contact them first.

But… she miscalculated.

To think there's someone who's _better_ at hacking than _Yamagishi_ , and that person is a part of the Phantom Thieves, no less.

Sakura Futaba.

She just looks at the screen of her phone, brought up to the big monitor by Yamagishi. Yukari and Akihiko are here, too, much to her relief. Aigis is right beside her, as always.

She nods, and the call is picked up.

" _Good afternoon, Kirijou Mitsuru-san_ ,"

As she expected, the girl has distorted the audio, enough to be untraceable by most — but not by their navigator. Yamagishi gives her a thumbs up, and Mitsuru can't help but grin a little.

"Good afternoon to you too, Alibaba… or should I say, Sakura Futaba?"

There's a deafening silence. Then, " _So, you figured that out, huh_."

"It's no surprise. You're Isshiki Wakaba's daughter, after all," She says. Isshiki was one of Kirijou group's head scientists, who fortunately did not participate in the incident in 1999. Her researches in the field of cognitive psience are invaluable, and her loss has been devastating, to say the least. "And I'm sorry for your loss."

" _Huh,_ " The other side hums, and there's sounds of gossip, before she continues. " _Thank you. I was not expecting that._ "

She smiles a little. "Still, you managed to track me down. I'm not exactly… discreet, but I don't think I'm that lenient, either."

" _Trust me, it takes some serious works_ ," The girl responds. " _…Then, to business. What do you know?_ "

"It's better to talk of this in person," Mitsuru quickly says. "I know this sounds odd, but I need to explain this face to face. Before that, I will send you all the necessary papers that I can to, where was it, again? The _Leblanc_ café?"

Another pause. " _I shouldn't have been surprised by any of this, but… I still do. You are scary._ "

"I apologize," She says. "To compensate for that, right here and now, I'll tell you as much as I can about the important details. Is that acceptable?"

There's less delay to the reply than the last, Mitsuru muses. " _Yes._ "

And so, she begins her side of the story.

.

It takes them a while, but the call ended in success.

"I've met with one of the Wild Card already," Yukari says as the screen goes black. She turns to Mitsuru with a smile. "Narukami Yu. He's a nice guy, and he got that vibe that _he_ always gave out."

That brings out a lot of memories, good and bad. Mitsuru smiles slightly as she hums, hand flipping the pages of the files in hand. Narukami Yu, currently studying master's degree in Psychology, Tokyo University. His grade is at the very top, with pristine records. She makes a surprised sound. "Huh. He really does remind you of _him_ , doesn't he?"

" _And_ he's Rise-chan's boyfriend, too," Yukari adds.

Mitsuru only narrows her eyes, but she hears Yamagishi squeals behind her.

"Really? He's Risette's _boyfriend!?_ "

"Yeah, it surprised me a lot, too," Yukari laughs lightly, her eyes idling scanning the documents. Mitsuru turns to Akihiko, who just shrugs. She sighs and looks at the archer again, and when she catches her questioning gaze, Yukari giggles. "Don't worry about it, Senpai."

"If you say so," She relents. "So, the other Wild Card?"

"Amamiya Ren," Akihiko says. "Prosecuted due to assault a year prior, transferred to Shujin under Sakura Sojiro's care. Also, from what that call told us, the leader of the Phantom Thieves."

"We'll never know how he actually is until we meet him," Yamagishi says, a finger on her chin. "But, if I am to judge from how Sakura-chan and Shirogane-chan talk about him, he doesn't seem so bad."

"I guess we'll have to see in person," She hums. "Make sure you read through their files again, just to be sure. I've arranged for the dorm to be built not too far from Shibuya station. After all, their safety and convenience must come first."

"It'll take a few weeks before constructions are completed, though," Aigis notes. "But I'm glad that they have already planned their resting hours around the Dark Hour. They seem to organize quickly, do they not?"

Indeed, they did. To think that they'd set themselves for at least two to three-man team during night time after experiencing the Dark Hour _once_ is a good surprise. And Mitsuru is glad that they're willing to open up _that_ much after one conversation, considering that she must've seemed quite hostile, sending them Evokers with cryptic messages and all that.

She did apologize again, but she didn't miss that bit of venom under Sakura's voice.

 _Sorry,_ she mentally says to herself.

"We're scheduled to meet them on the 16th, right? Sunday?" She asks as she puts the papers down, walking over to the coffee machine and starts brewing herself a cup.

"Yes. Do you want me to greet them beforehand, Mitsuru-san?" Aigis asks.

Mitsuru is always surprised by her evolutions, not to mention that her ability to think and take initiative is always a good thing. She's becoming even more reliable than she already was.

She nods. "That would be ideal. Try to stay around and help them as much as you can while I organize things from this end. I'll call you again when the preparations for the move out is finished."

"Understood."

"And, everyone," She calls out to the current members in the room. They all turn to her, a bit puzzled, but nevertheless ready to listen. While the circumstances are less than ideal, there are always some kind of silver lining under a crisis. This time is no different.

She smiles.

"As strange as this sound… Welcome back."

They all break into smiles, and chorus at her.

"We're back in action!"

* * *

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room, Makoto-san."

He opens his eyes to the same blue elevator.

This time, Igor's smiling a bit more, and Elizabeth looks less pale (if looking _more_ or _less_ pale is even possible for her pale complexion) than she was the last time they met. His attendant bows, and he bows back slightly, before his attention returns to Igor.

"The way you will acquire new and more powerful Personas is… strange. Revolutionary. And very convoluted," Igor says, rubbing his temple. That's a first. "Truth be told, this is the first time the Fool who has already completed his Journey once – and died for it, for that matter – is asked to make another trek down the arduous road called Fate."

"Er… I get you?" Makoto says, unsure.

Trust him, he's as confused as Igor is. And if Igor doesn't know how he's going to get new Personas, then how the _fuck_ is he supposed to know about it?

"And I must first apologize, for mislabeling Ifrit for belonging to two Arcana at once," Igor says, rubbing a finger under his chin. When Makoto nods, signaling that he's listening, the man continues. "It is not that he belongs to two, but rather, that the Universe Arcana represents _everything_. As such, Ifrit _is_ of the Universe Arcana, but he represents only a part of it."

"So… it's like he's the Universe's Fool," Makoto surmises. His knowledges of the Arcanas are limited, but he does know something about them. "Universe encompasses all other Arcanas within it, so being in the Universe means you can represent only a certain part of it, as well… right?"

"Indeed," Igor smiles. Then his brows furrow a little. "Then again, most of the knowledge of the way you summon a new Persona is a mystery to me still, so allow me some times to find answers to your questions, both asked and unspoken."

"…Uh, okay?" Not like he has any choices, anyway.

"But alas, it _is_ exciting," The long nose says with a wide grin. "You, whose bonds have already been nurtured and strengthened through time, can call fourth the strongest of the strong to your aid… if you have the will to call for them, the strength to endure them, and the unbending determination to guide them under your care."

"…Like Amarok," He says with a small nod. "Yeah… I get that."

"Nurture the strength of your body, heart and soul well, Makoto-san," Igor bows his head slightly. "For whichever other selves you will call fourth next, only with the understanding of your inner voices and your bond with your other self can you bring their true powers out."

His inner voices – like when he called for Amarok. To accept his instinct, the voices he had never heard or cared enough to hear before.

His other self – "By my other self, you mean…"

"Ryoji-san," Igor finishes, smiling. "Your bond with him can grows even stronger yet, and when it does, I will be delighted to see what would transpire."

Makoto smiles slightly as he nods.

But then, Igor's face turns grim. "Makoto-san, we have a bit of an opening, so I must say this quickly."

"…What is it?"

"Do _not_ listen to Ifrit," He says. As soon as the name leaves his mouth, Makoto could feel something hammering away inside his head. He gasps and doubles over, cradling his head in his hands. Elizabeth moves to his side and puts a hand on his shoulder, stabilizing him.

"Why…?" He manages to grit out.

"I cannot say more, but please refrain yourself from calling him as much as possible," Igor states.

He doesn't get to hear another word when the Velvet Room suddenly collapses into itself.

.

He really hates waking up with a start.

And why is his phone blowing up?

"Why is my phone exploding?" He says, blinking away the sleepiness in his eyes. He grabs his buzzing device — it's _only_ 10pm? When the fuck did he even crash? — and sees multiple "HBDs" and "Why didn't you tell me" messages.

Ryoji gives him a sheepish grin. "I kinda told them today is your birthday?"

"…Ah," He murmurs, sitting up and scratching his head. He isn't used to this kind of attention, to be blunt. Not that he usually mind, but… this is gonna interfere with his sleep schedule, isn't it?

"They said they're gonna take you to a buffet tomorrow, so you better get a good night's sleep tonight," He says with that wide, ear-to-ear smile. Makoto just stares at him until he speaks again. "Come on, we both know you could use a bit more food in your stomach."

As if on cue, his stomach growls. He blushes. "Fuck."

"See? Told you," Ryoji laughs merrily. "I'm gonna finish this book first before going to sleep. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" He mutters, and is about to lie down when he remembers something. "Hey, what would happen if the Dark Hour appears today?"

"If I don't feel anything going on, I won't wake you up. Promise."

"…Okay?" He says, tilting his head to the side. "Is your… intuition _reliable_?"

"Uh… no?"

"Ryoji, you're way too carefree about it."

"And you're too focused on the Dark Hour," Ryoji counters, his expression soft. "Live a little, Makoto. Just like at SEES, balancing your rest and your Journey is a necessity, you know."

 _Not to mention you were dead for almost a decade_ , Ryoji's expression seems to say.

He tries to argue, but no solid reasoning comes to mind. Yeah, maybe he's a bit _too_ focus on it. He sighs and flops back down onto the bed, typing responses to the ones from Shujin. After he's done, he mutters, "You win. See you tomorrow."

"Sweet dreams, Makoto. See ya."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's so slow I'll try to pick up the pace I promise ;(
> 
> Also, it's cliche as all hell but hear me out! In the Arena manga, Mitsuru has never told Yu Makoto's name, so I'm using that here. Besides, I've had good friends who'd died unfortunate deaths, and we (at least we Asians) usually don't go about telling anyone the dead's names, at least not to someone we've just known.
> 
> So there's that. Don't worry, they'll meet in a few chapters ;_;
> 
> See you!

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was it? Good? Bad? Please let me know!


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